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SSP, a FTSE 250 international travel food company, which operates food and beverage outlets such as Upper Crust, Millie’s Cookies, and the UK’s busiest Starbucks, launched a global, multi-million-pound HR integration and transformation project with Prolifics UK, to address a fragmented landscape of people management systems across its locations.

Challenge

With operations spanning over 38 countries, SSP struggled with disparate HR, payroll, and point-of-sale (PoS) systems globally, resulting in:

• Siloed regional processes with no unified view of employees;
• Manual onboarding and provisioning tasks, delaying time-to-productivity;
• Risk of non-compliance with regional HR and payroll regulations;
• Difficulty integrating with new digital tools for workforce and talent management;
• Disconnected PoS systems in different regions, adding to operational silos.

A key project goal was to manage staff information in a single global system – SAP SuccessFactors, so that all regions use the same reliable data. To do this, a flexible and scalable integration setup was built by Prolifics, using API Led Connectivity and domain driven design, allowing this data to be shared automatically with other key systems like payroll, workforce management, and PoS across the business. In parallel, Prolifics implemented Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to automate many repetitive processes, further streamlining operations. These additional initiatives were completed as part of the overall transformation.

The Solution

SSP partnered with Prolifics to deliver an agile, API-led integration solution using MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform and launched the People Programme, aiming to implement SAP SuccessFactors as a single, global HRIS platform. This solution would serve as the single source of truth for all HR data worldwide, enabling standardised processes, improved data accuracy, and streamlined reporting across all markets. In addition to unifying core HR systems, the program also encompassed integrations with SSP’s point-of-sale (PoS) systems and introduced Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for certain processes, extending the transformation’s benefits beyond HR.

Key Challenges Addressed:

• Siloed regional HR processes with no unified employee view.
• Avoid the need for the data to be re-entered in the target system.
• Manual onboarding and provisioning, delaying productivity.
• Increased risk of non-compliance with regional regulations.
• Difficulty integrating new digital workforce and talent management tools.

Agile Delivery

With operations spanning 38 countries, the programme was delivered in regional waves using agile sprints. Each sprint focused on specific data domains and systems, coordinating delivery across multiple workstreams, including:

• Development of common, reusable master data objects (e.g., employee and cost center data)
• Collaboration with 14 regional vendors for local integrations
• Ensuring global integrations adhered to data protection requirements
• IT provisioning (4me), payroll and benefits, time and attendance, and reporting/analytics

This iterative approach enabled the rapid delivery of usable assets, accelerating time-to-value for the customer.

API-Led Architecture

A three-tier architecture, aligned with MuleSoft best practices, was implemented:

• Experience APIs: allowed users to access master data via REST APIs.
• Process APIs: were designed to create batch processes for syncing master data from SAP SuccessFactors with local vendor systems. They also orchestrated integrations across multiple systems where needed, enabling both synchronous (REST) and asynchronous (batch/file) data flows.
• System APIs: handled data exchange with core systems, including SAP SuccessFactors ECP, SAP ECC, and UKG for time and attendance.

This layered architecture reduced system dependencies, enabled loosely coupled integrations, and facilitated future scalability.

Event-Driven Design

Prolifics designed SSP’s integrations using an event-driven publish/subscribe model aligned with SAP SuccessFactors’ employee lifecycle events (e.g. hire, promotion, leaver). This ensured that changes to staff data are shared automatically and in near real time with vendor systems.

This approach delivered clear benefits:

• Updates for systems like HumanForce, keeping records instantly in sync
• Flexible delivery for systems including payroll and WFM, supporting both live and batch feeds
• Reusable APIs built on MuleSoft, allowing easy integration of future systems including AI-driven recruitment tools and government incentive programs
• Lower costs and faster delivery by avoiding one-off, custom or point-to-point integrations

The result is a scalable, efficient solution that keeps SSP’s global HR systems connected and consistent.

Canonical Data Model

A single, unified model for changes to employee master data was developed, covering:

• Personal Information
• Address Information
• Employment Information
• Job Information
• Compensation Information
• Country-specific Information

Based on a domain-driven common data model, this approach provides a unified view of key business entities across SSP, ensuring consistency and clarity across countries and systems, regardless of underlying formats or data structures. It seamlessly supports the distribution of new joiner, mover, and leaver data (including any additions, updates, or deletions) to target vendor systems based on the specific events each vendor subscribes to during onboarding. This enabled even legacy systems with inconsistent structures to connect and consume data reliably and without ambiguity.

Data Encryption

All sensitive data shared with vendors was protected using PGP encryption, ensuring compliance with data privacy standards and safeguarding information during transmission.

Role-Based Permissions Model

To ensure the secure exchange of sensitive staff data across global systems, Prolifics implemented a robust Role-Based Permissions (RBP) model using OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication and access control. Additionally, all file-based data transfers were encrypted using PGP, safeguarding data at rest and in transit. This comprehensive approach was essential to maintaining data security, privacy, and compliance with regulatory standards.

Prolifics employed OAuth 2.0 authentication to enable secure, scalable, and automated system integrations. By using token-based access, the solution eliminates the need for hardcoded credentials, reducing the risk of credential expiry and minimising manual maintenance. OAuth 2.0 also supports fine-grained access control, improving overall security while ensuring seamless data exchange between systems.

The solution was also designed to support long-term operations, with governance and security considerations built in as SSP transitions to Business as Usual (BAU), ensuring a secure, scalable platform for future growth.

Integration Patterns Implemented

To support SSP’s diverse technology landscape across multiple regions, Prolifics implemented four core integration patterns:

• Event-Based (Pub/Sub) for real-time updates
• Request-Reply for two-way communication with external systems to allow access to real-time data feeds
• Asynchronous Messaging for reliable message processing
• File-Based for batch data transfers where needed

This flexible architecture meant SSP could connect modern and legacy systems alike, regardless of their technical limitations or local compliance requirements. By tailoring integrations to suit each system’s needs, the team ensured that data remained consistent, accurate, and timely across the entire organisation. The approach also enables faster onboarding of new systems, simplifies change management, and supports future expansion.

The Result

The transformation project delivered by Prolifics has fundamentally changed how SSP manages its staff data:

• Standardised Global Onboarding: Automated ticketing enabled rapid provisioning of IT equipment and user accounts, dramatically reducing onboarding times and administrative overhead.
• Unified Master Data: Consistent, centralised HR data now underpins employee, payroll and benefits processing across all participating regions, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Enhanced HR Data Governance: Automation and integration have minimised manual intervention, reduced errors, and supported robust data quality controls.
• Scalable Integration Architecture: The flexible, API-led framework provides a foundation for onboarding new systems and expanding to additional countries in future project waves.
• Accelerated Delivery of Downstream Services: Workforce scheduling, compliance reporting, and other critical services are now delivered faster and more reliably, supporting business agility and regional regulatory requirements.

The platform has already integrated 14 benefits providers and is being rolled out to 6 regions, with more scheduled as the project enters Wave 3.

“Prolifics’ deep MuleSoft expertise and agile approach helped us build a future-proof foundation for global HR integration. We now have a single, reliable source of staff data for use across our systems worldwide.” — IT Director, S