How SAP S/4 Hana Optimizes Business Strategy

It is crucial that companies align their digital transformation efforts with their individual strategic business goals. To be successful in their endeavors, they’ll need a real-time ERP suite like the S/4 platform. SAP S/4 Hana combines the advantages of an intelligent next-generation ERP system with those of SAP systems. To benefit from S/4 and Hana, companies need to consider more than just technological factors, however.

Strategy and organization are just as important as technology. S/4 Hana implementations grant companies the opportunity to evaluate and optimize every single process, their entire business structure and all their base principles to ensure they are all aligned with business goals. It is essential to first define a mid-term and long-term corporate strategy, however, as it is important for S/4 Hana business goals.

Like every complex IT project, S/4 Hana implementations need meticulous preparation. Companies need to plan individual project phases by including and informing all involved parties like managers, CEOs, IT decisionmakers and stakeholders.

S/4 Hana migration needs to align with business strategy

In our digital age, there is only one constant for numerous companies: permanent change. Managers should use such a fundamental change like migrating to a new ERP suite to make sure their mid-term and long-term business goals are what they would like them to be. It is not enough to only reevaluate overall corporate strategy, however; every goal in every individual department needs to be aligned with business strategy. Managers need to consider legal and economic aspects as well as running and planned IT projects.

If an overall strategy has been defined, the goals of the transformation can be derived from it. These goals act as guidelines for an effective, significant, and sustainable S/4 project. The defined goals also determine which transformation method is most suitable. Greenfield or brownfield? To decide between new implementation and migration, companies need to be aware of their current process landscapes, their critical processes, and their future IT needs.

A structured approach to a strategic transformation requires meticulous planning and execution of each individual project phase and the definition of milestones. Moreover, companies have to define roles and assign tasks. It is also recommendable to not only identify business-critical processes, but also validate them against industry standards.

In previous projects, it has furthermore proven useful to define concrete goals for every project phase, calculate expenses and efforts for subsequent steps, and provide suggestions on how different components can be implemented.

Meeting requirements of end users is only possible by asking them what they want. It is indispensable that companies identify all affected staff members when it comes to S/4 Hana transformation and implementation. Companies need to find out what future end users want, which processes individual departments require, and if these requirements align with mid-term and long-term business strategy.

While the opinions of decisionmakers are essential to S/4 Hana projects, companies cannot neglect the IT department and their needs and wishes, as it is the IT department that makes digital transformation in other business departments happen. Collaboration is a must, as every stakeholder has a different perspective, different requirements, and different expectations. Only then do companies have a stable foundation for their S/4 Hana transformation projects.