A 3-Step Guide To SAP S/4HANA Transformation Success

SAP S/4HANA migration is complex, but it doesn't have to be challenging. Discover our three-step process for successful ERP transformation.

SAP customers are on a countdown to transition to the cloud-based S/4HANA enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform. It's a complicated undertaking that touches on your entire organization, but it doesn't have to be insurmountable.

To succeed in ERP transformation, you need the right intelligence and oversight to plan, process, and probe your work. Still, the biggest challenge is often knowing where to start.

To support you, we've put together a three-step process for ERP transformation success. Following this guide will ensure you remember the key points in the process.

For a more in-depth dive into this strategy, download our free whitepaper:

FREE WHITEPAPER: Getting It Right - A Holistic Approach To SAP S/4HANA Transformations

S/4HANA Step 1: Build A Strong Business Case

Upgrading your enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform to SAP S/4HANA can feel like an enormous undertaking. Most people can see the value of ERP transformation, but stakeholders can be hesitant to commit to the project.

The first step in winning your stakeholders over to the necessity to take early action on ERP transformation is to make the benefits and risks concrete. When you can show everyone involved that the costs, effort, and potential problems add up to far less than those involved in maintaining your current ERP tool, the decision becomes easy.

There are many examples of organizations that have mistimed a poorly planned ERP transformation and faced consequences. We examined five of these in a previous post:

READ: ERP Transformation - 5 Companies That Waited Too Long

It is, however, much easier to offer anecdotal evidence of ERP transformation issues than it is to offer hard evidence. Using a combination of LeanIX and SAP Signavio, you can map out your entire ERP landscape, then plan out your transformation.

With the information LeanIX and Signavio can provide you with, you can visualize a direct comparison between your current and target ERP architecture. This enables you to show your stakeholders the need for transformation.

To find out more about how LeanIX can support your SAP S/4HANA transformation, download our free whitepaper:

FREE WHITEPAPER: How LeanIX Helps with SAP S/4HANA Transformation

S/4HANA Step 2: Leverage Change Management

Upgrading to SAP S/4HANA is a sweeping change that will touch upon every part of your business. As such, it's essential to win the support of everyone who will be impacted by your transformation.

Change management methodology will keep all your stakeholders involved in the process, ensuring they understand how it will benefit them and what challenges they will face. This will also gain you the support of your entire organization in driving success within your enterprise resource planning (ERP) transformation.

The key here is communication. You need to ensure there are no misunderstandings about why you're engaging in transformation, how you're going about it, and the benefits for everyone involved.

By sharing your plan with your stakeholders, you avoid any surprises that could cause resistance to change. You also can benefit from the hands-on expertise of users who deal with your ERP system every day, which will inform your transformation plan.

LeanIX enables this by automating the process of surveying stakeholders to expand information about your application portfolio. You can also grant your stakeholders read-only access to LeanIX, so they can investigate your planning on their own.

We identified a five-step process for ERP transformation change management in our recent whitepaper:

Identify and engage stakeholders
Articulate the vision
Form cross-functional teams
Implement enablement programs
Celebrate milestones

To find out more about how you can leverage change management for ERP transformation success, download our whitepaper:

FREE WHITEPAPER: 5 Critical Steps to Change Management in ERP Transformation

S/4HANA Step 3: RISE With SAP

The transformation to SAP S/4HANA is a necessary step for on-premise SAP customers, and one that will have associated risk if you don't do it correctly. Thankfully, SAP offers customers a complete package of support products and services known as RISE with SAP.

RISE stands for Realize, Innovate, Sustain, and Enhance, and is described as business transformation as a service. For one price, SAP customers can access a variety of SAP tools and guidance to empower their business transformation.

The tools included with RISE offer real-time analytics and insights into your enterprise resource planning (ERP) landscape, while the bundle also guides you through the process. This puts you in the best position to understand your SAP portfolio of tools and how to transition them to the cloud.

With RISE offering clarity on your SAP landscape, Signavio monitoring your business processes, and LeanIX mapping your application portfolio, you can gain a complete and comprehensive oversight of your ERP transformation. With all three tools working together, you can proceed with your ERP transformation with absolute confidence.

Not to mention, the data you acquire for your transformation will be preserved and continually updated. This means you'll be ready for future transformations of any size or type.

To find out more about RISE with SAP, visit the SAP site:

DISCOVER: RISE With SAP

Master SAP S/4HANA With LeanIX And Signavio

SAP S/4HANA transformation doesn't have to be challenging. With the right insights into your SAP landscape and the support of planning tools, you can make enterprise resource planning (ERP) transformation a business-as-usual task.

You must, however, ensure that these insights cover a complete spectrum. You need to have oversight of your technology through LeanIX, your business processes through Signavio, and your SAP platform through RISE.

With this complete view over your transformation, you can plan properly, transform in a timely manner, and monitor your key metrics into the future. You'll then have all of that data to hand for your next transformation.

To start planning your own SAP S/4HANA transformation, download our free whitepaper on the best methodology: