Digitalization with SAP can be fun – no joke!

For organizations, SAP is like a Thermomix for the kitchen or a well-stocked toolbox for the craftsman – a tool with which complex workflows can be designed much more simply, clearly and in an automated way.

The broad product range from SAP in Walldorf has set the worldwide standard for ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems for years now. Accordingly, many SMEs and large companies work with the applications, which unite functions for nearly all areas of everyday business along the value chain on one digital platform.

With more than 230 million cloud users and probably the most extensive selection of modules and integrations on the market, SAP software is a popular choice when it comes to the digitalization of organizations. But for all the superlatives: just like the high-tech cooking machine Thermomix, SAP too can have its pitfalls in implementation and in everyday practical use.

One of them is the high complexity, caused by the high degree of company-wide integration of the system. Which is why the software readily carries the reputation of being long-winded, complicated, dry and difficult. But it doesn't have to be that way! Used correctly, SAP ERP software is not only efficient, but will even be fun to use! In this article, we show you how that works.

With SAP software, is all that glitters gold?

Admittedly, quite a few of the companies that steer their workflows and information with a solution from SAP have made contrasting experiences over the course of this time.

On the one hand, there are advantages like

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• the high security of the system,
• the greater agility of processes through central control,
• the comfort of an integrated “all in one” solution,
• the large selection of modules and products covering the most important business areas (finance, sales, HR, production, materials management, maintenance, etc.)
• and not least the high level of familiarity with the software, which means many employees acquire knowledge of how it works partly already during their training or in their career.
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These superlatives, however, are offset by some aspects that can lastingly dampen an organization's euphoria during digital transformation.

Digitalization with SAP = stress, fear and panic?

In our work with organizations from all industries, we often get muted reactions on the topic of SAP. These are usually based on experiences of project staff and leaders that aren't only positive:

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• (Too) high demands on the standard functions and the integration – every business area is, in its processes and structures, a far-reaching and often customer-specifically specialized field. Add to that the individual needs of organizations and users for corresponding software solutions. So it can happen that the departments' expectations of how SAP ERP systems work are only partly met.
• Planning difficulties – companies that migrate to the new, often cloud-based products from Walldorf, or want to introduce further new SAP products into their existing IT landscape, readily get tangled up in planning difficulties. Timelines are often not kept, so that project members or even entire departments are tied up in projects significantly longer than would be necessary. At the same time, due to the high integration of the SAP landscape, parallel projects shift. Thus the three dimensions of project work (time, quality and budget) get out of balance. That causes unnecessary stress for everyone involved.
• Challenges in coordination – although SAP advertises easy operability of the software, the intelligent suite sometimes lacks clarity. A familiar question is, for example: “Which processes do I map in which solution, with which master data, and how do I orchestrate them into an effective and productive whole?” The consequences include, among other things, that variables like budget, scope and time frame aren't reached according to the initial objective. Topics and content are also regularly pushed to later moments and then no longer implemented.
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Switching from SAP ERP ECC 6.0 to SAP S/4HANA – and now?

Another point that causes companies additional hair-pulling is the switch from the previous core product SAP ERP ECC 6.0 to the latest technology SAP S/4HANA. The next-generation cloud platform too lures with big promises like better usability, more performance and significant cost reductions.

Against this, however, stand the worries of organizations that have already gathered practical experience with SAP ECC. This readily expresses itself in reactions like „Oh my God, not another SAP project”, „It won't work anyway”, „But I want to keep my solutions developed for me in ECC“ or „Let's first wait and see whether it's any good at all”.

But even if this hesitation feels at first like smart playing-it-safe – in fact, such resentments only stand in the way of your projects' successes.

Because if you observe a few fundamental steps when deploying the new SAP software, the system can be a great help in steering your workflows. And even provide more motivation and enthusiasm in resource planning.

SAP = fun with processes!

The biggest mistake companies make in digitalization with SAP is probably not learning from past experiences. Entirely in the style of the definition of insanity, the same steps are often taken again and again, the same methodology chosen, and yet different results are expected. Frustration is thus pre-programmed.

To make a sustainable switch and work with SAP S/4HANA succeed, it's worth taking a step back first. Working through the past and developing, from lessons learned, a holistic strategy that enables clean expectations and planning. That takes change management that is, above all, agile and ventures far beyond silo thinking.

As a management and technology consultancy, the grandega team regularly accompanies such demanding platform-based transformation processes. Our approach is multidimensional. Besides analyzing the organization itself, we also include the aspects of the applied IT, existing processes as well as the affected customers and employees in our work. Because what use is even the best SAP software if resources aren't managed sensibly with it?

With our Transformation Compass, we stand by your side as an active partner – from the as-is analysis, through strategic advice on the rollout of the SAP application in your company, to holistic delivery and long-term quality assurance.

This creates ideal conditions for you to design your SAP projects more efficiently in structural and organizational terms. On the one hand, that takes a lot of stress off the shoulders of your employees and leaders, which they'd have to absorb if the ERP software weren't used optimally. Not infrequently, we even hear feedback like “SAP can be fun after all”.

On the other hand, professional rollout management creates measurable success. We'd be happy to tell you more about it in a first impulse conversation about your transformation initiative.