When an organization is planning to implement S/4HANA, there are two questions one must answer to get the best out of the investment:
The focus and approach of the organization and the implementation partner will determine the success of the project. As with every major project to obtain the desired outcomes, the SAP S/4HANA implementation should clearly define the objectives and ensure the expected outcomes can be measured. Change is never the goal but rather the path to obtaining the desired business improvements.
The approach to a new SAP S/4HANA implementation should focus on re-design and change management instead of lift & shift. Lift & shift is understood here as moving an application or process from one environment to another without stopping to re-design and leverage the benefits of the new system.
There are three main implementation types in moving a company to SAP S/4HANA:
New implementation (greenfield) – for customers who are new to SAP ERP or companies who want to re-implement their SAP core solution.
System conversion (brownfield) – for existing SAP customers who want to upgrade and refine their current system to the latest SAP S/4HANA solution.
Automated conversion (bluefield) - similar to brownfield, but heavily supported by automated tools. Usually applicable for the conversion of massive ERP deployments where manual approach would take too long.
Implementation type varies based on current ERP, size of the organization, and its strategical goals. However, to maximize the benefits of S/4HANA, the focus should be always standardizing and simplification of business processes, not on technology.
Choosing the right approach is not enough. The project also needs a compelling business case; for example improvement of stock turnover by more efficient supply chain implementation or improvement of credit management and cash collection processes to reduce the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
A strong business case will allow the project to have clear and verifiable objectives that can be monitored and help to drive the changes with the stakeholders.
But the best methodology won't deliver the project. One also needs a project team where business resources play key roles supported by skilled technology consultants that can drive the fit-to-standard approach. The times where the project team could work in disconnection from the business are over. To achieve the desired business goals, we need daily interactions and often corrective actions during project delivery. One of the best methods to facilitate those interactions is the use of Agile methodology. For large scale Programs, however, it might be better to use Scaled Agile Framework (SAFE) that adds program level governance to the underlying Agile.
One of the main blockers for a successful S/4HANA implementation is an organization not adapting to the new processes. S/4HANA expects organizations to embrace the changes and learn to adapt constantly. SAP is releasing new releases of S/4HANA products often, and to remain at the top, organizations have to keep adapting.
With S/4HANA Cloud product, the early adoption is forced every three months. With S/4HANA STE (Single Tenant Edition) ideally every year but not less than once every two years. With S/4HANA On-Premise the schedule can be flexible. Every organization has a chance to choose the pace that suits.
The project delivery relies on business users to drive the change. In the past, business users were trained closer to the end of the project. The expectation of today is for everybody to keep up with the ever-changing knowledge by self-training through SAP Knowledge Hub. Such an approach is aimed to guarantee the best Return of Investment after implementing S/4HANA as well as its longevity.
Last but not least; the drive for Standardized end-to-end processes may require changes in the structure of the organization, redefinition of the business roles or even creation of the new ones. To facilitate this process SAP offers a free of charge Business Scenario Recommendations that can be requested following the instructions on Request SAP BSN. This report helps to identify the business drivers for process innovation and required changes based on the current use of SAP ECC system.