Smart digital transition is the call of the times. But not all transitions are fully successful. In fact, many such transitions fail to deliver even a satisfactory level of ROI (return on investment), causing losses in time and money.
The reasons for this could be varied: poor implementation, inaccurate fit, wrong methodology, or even insufficient, outdated technology that fails to address particular business needs. For SAP implementation for example, these instances can easily throttle a company’s success in unlocking its full benefits. It could lead to costly downtimes, and even loss in sales, which could set a company back by several years.
Yet all these can be easily prevented when a company partners the right managed service provider for fully optimized success on the SAP ERP.
What is SAP S/4HANA?
Now, SAP has elevated its specialized offerings with the cloud-based S/4HANA, deployed on any cloud of choice with the RISE with SAP program. It packs in the existing SAP solutions and goes beyond, offering real-time data analytics, covering all business activities, from finance and sales, to vendor management and customer relationship management.
Today, Cloud4C is one of the most trusted SAP partners, delivery fully managed end-to-end SAP offerings in a single SLA. Our unique pool of certified experts understands the nuances of handling SAP environments across various industries to create a fool-proof strategy for managing mission-critical SAP applications.
Challenges with Implementing SAP with the Wrong Partner
Poor data management: One of the topmost concerns with the wrong SAP partner is mismanagement of critical business data. Any compromise in the security of such data can have major repercussions on the business.
Poor change management: If the partner does not work closely at every level of SAP implementation, then the enterprise is bound to face multiple hurdles in making a smooth and successful transition.
Business disruption: Inevitably, poor change management will cause business disruption as the usual workflow will be disrupted and productivity will fall.
Costly downtimes: Lack of due diligence at the time of SAP implementation can lead to costly downtimes as the IT team will be under pressure to troubleshoot errors and fix them in the shortest possible time.
Cost over-runs: More and more quick-fix solutions to resolve the issues at implementation stage would mean rising bills which could directly impact the overall company budget.
Inability to focus on core business objectives: When the top leadership gets bogged down by IT-related issues at regular intervals, their attention is bound to deviate from core business goals and objectives.
Dipping sales: Eventually, the business faces dip in sales as there is no available resource or IT enablement to support planning and growth of sales.
Degrowth: The last thing that any business leader would want to see is their company degrowing. But when the SAP implementation fails to deliver on its promise, degrowth becomes imminent.
So, it is important that IT and business leaders measure the progress at each stage of their SAP implementation. After all, as the wise old saying goes, ‘prevention is better than cure’.
How can you confirm that your business has succeeded in its SAP implementation? Continue to read below.
Key Steps to Measure the Progress of Your SAP Implementation
The key is to measure the progress in each critical aspect of your business that is utilizing SAP landscapes to scale up and succeed. Let’s walk you through the key metrics to measure the progress of your business’ SAP implementation for sustained success in the long term:
1. Employee Satisfaction
Customer experience is one of the most important metrics to assess the success of any project. When it comes to SAP, customer experience means employee experience. Employee experience can be gauged by the level of employee engagement and productivity post SAP deployment. Are employees satisfied with the transition? Do they face any issues? These factors will directly impinge on sales, growth and longevity.
2. Project Margins
In project-based industries such as construction, project margins measure how much a company makes after subtracting its expenses for materials, labor and overhead. Leading SAP systems combine data on all of these metrics to give companies a complete picture of revenue and costs for each project. Is your company’s SAP framework able to deliver that?
3. Inventory Turnover
A successfully implemented SAP will monitor the progress of inventory turnover, provide clear visibility into inventory processes and how to move products more quickly. It also helps a business avoid losses due to overstocking or understocking with more accurate demand forecasting. It could in fact be the key enabler for businesses to tap into the market and increase revenue.
4. Business Value
All said and done, generating business value is the key reason to invest in SAP implementation. Business value is determined by how much money a business has made from the sale of its products and services with SAP. Common metrics for this include average profit per sale, operating margin and order value. With a successfully implemented ERP, companies can identify their biggest revenue growth opportunities and boost business value.
5. Improved Profits
The ideal SAP implementation is equipped to help the staff in making informed business decisions on the back of real-time data analytics. What’s more, it can identify business inefficiencies, rectify them, and save on costs. It will analyze profitability closely by identifying less profitable activity, products or services. The combined effect of all this helps businesses grow, capture greater ROI, achieve profits and realize growth.
Transform with SAP on Cloud with Cloud4C
Implementing a new SAP landscape or modernizing it is no small feat; which is why this overwhelms even the most tech-savvy of companies. The best thing to do is to find the right sap implementation partner with proven competence in sap implementation methodology to guide enterprises through the process right through the go-live and after it.
Cloud4C’s SAP implementation services provide end-to-end support with planning, designing, building, deploying, and continuously improving SAP solutions in a low-risk environment with skilled professionals in all SAP processes. Our team of expert developers come with a deep technical understanding of SAP to help companies create an efficient work environment for all users, meeting desired business goals and timeframes. With Cloud4C, convert your existing ERP landscapes to S/4HANA, migrate to cloud with the RISE with SAP program, and undergo a true business transformation with additional innovative integrations such as automation, AI, analytics tools. All of this in a single packaged offering, in one SLA guaranteeing highest uptimes till the application layer.
Reach us today to streamline your business operations and scale up for growth, with intuitive SAP system implementations.
