Enabling the Migration from ECC to S/4HANA

Building on our previous discussion, let's dive deeper into the path of key things that an organization on the journey to S/4HANA needs to know.  Previously, we set the stage with some solid foundational concepts and options meant to prepare you for some critical decisions that the team will be faced with when determining what your organization’s journey to S/4 will look like. This resource contains valuable information, including definitions and key points. If you haven't already, we encourage you to read the write-up, Navigating Your Path to S/4HANA: A Guide to Migration Strategies.

Don't let the IT-focused perspective fool you. This information is relevant for business partners too, as it examines the path ahead. The clearer you are on the options and the why for each, the more comfortable you’ll feel participating in critical conversations and anticipating the road ahead.

Understanding the full scope is essential. Don't be fooled by the term 'lift and shift.' Migrations are complex, even when labeled as 'upgrades.' When we say this, it implies you will waltz in the door on day one and things will be no different than they were the day before. It’s simply not true, and that’s not actually what they are trying to imply.

However, when we tell our teams this, it may minimize the appreciation of the scale of change and catch them unprepared and off guard. That’s not great. It may also suggest to key team members that extensive testing is not required- because everything “should” work, and you may not get the rich participation in critical conversations that arise while all the upfront evaluation of data quality, transactional readiness, and custom code review is being worked through. This introduces exponential risk into your journey by sidelining an incredibly valuable asset-our people who bring human intelligence, institutional knowledge, and functional expertise.  Referring to the journey to S/4 as a technical upgrade or lift and shift often also leaves the team wondering why we’re doing this at all. It’s expensive, time-consuming and more work during what is likely already a busy time! The conclusion: SAP has given us no choice. When this messaging happens, it is so unfortunate because not only does S/4 as a solution offer enormous opportunities for value to the business, but the journey itself offers so many opportunities for good stuff. You can start day 1 with similar processes to what you have today, but with a much cleaner system and rules engine that’s ready to run! Don’t settle for “lift and shift” or “technical upgrade” only mindset. Take the opportunity to create value. This is the perfect time to do so!

Onto the second thing no one tells you: It just never really is a GREAT time for change. Change is disruptive, carries risk and is messy. It’s also the only way to get better, and if you’re not living your best life with efficient processes and empowered team members- both enabled by the smart use of SAP…this IS the time to get serious about getting what you need to achieve your business objectives. Consider this: invest some time in cleaning up the system, evaluating your processes, and learning the system as it sets today.  This allows you to increase the foundational understanding of the team so that they can participate in critical conversations that drive the value in advance of day one, on day one and in to the future. By working on your processes and data ahead of time, you’re set up smartly for the transition. Then, once you’re ready to role with your newly created or transitioned system, there’s been strong preparation and a well defined path to value. Casting the vision of how SAP will be put to work for you and backing it with pre-work, smart set-up and a post transition plan gives people something to be interested in, debate and fight for. There is never a great time for change- but with reasons to believe that things will get better, supported by a roadmap that reads people in to why, what and when, you can achieve buy in from the team and keep everyone pulling in the right direction. What are your business objectives?  Increase Market Share by X %?  Improve EBDITA? Improve service levels, quality inventory performance, achieve higher levels of productivity? Focus on the WHY and tie it to the business outcomes and you’ll be able to navigate the challenge of running the business while navigating transformational change.  People just need to have the context of where we’re headed and why.  Arm them well and invite them to help you get there!  

And YES, you should expect improvements from this journey. The technology alone won’t take you there- but this is a great time to set a new bar and cultivate a plan to achieve it. Where are you going?  How will you get there?  Let SAP be the enabler, let the journey create the opportunity to get into the changes within the business that need to be made- starting with the right set up and the solid foundation for growth and excellence.

Last but not least, the third thing no one tells you: Sometimes you have to take a step back or to the side before you can surge forward towards gains. Yes, we get a robust new toolkit. Really. We’ve got webinars on our favorite things- all from the perspective of the business and many as supply chain professionals. There’s good stuff!  People are definitely telling you that.  If they aren’t, you aren’t talking to the right people. But... if you don’t make a fundamental commitment- a cultural and organizational imperative- to migrate offline processes into SAP, to improve the timeliness of your transactional data, and the quality and robustness of your master data… you’ve just acquired a well thought out, beautiful beachside village with all of the amenities one could wish for- and its standing there empty. No one is living inside of it. And a quiet system that isn’t present in your day to day decision making, isn’t THE place to be to make things happen- it’s not driving value for you. And if that’s allowed to happen, then the people walk away from it and getting them back becomes an even more difficult, time-consuming and disruptive journey.  In contrast, there’s a lot to get excited about- and having conversations with your people about the new world for their role gives them something that makes sense. And this is important, because most of us have baggage: less than great processes, working around or outside of the system, knowledge gaps, quirky things that we have adopted to make things work. All of the good stuff that’s coming doesn’t inherently fix the way we bring SAP to bear today, so we may need to take a step back before we can go forward and figure out what’s stopping us. What is standing between us and what our best practice could and should be? Taking a step back to position for big forward gains allows for the commitment we need to embed the new way of working into the fabric of the business- and that is how we achieve long-term ever expanding value.

If you would like to chat with someone who has walked this journey before, we’re here for you- and we’d love to make success a little easier to find. This journey offers a valuable opportunity to transform what matters! It’s exciting, and a little nerve-wracking and it can be hard to get clarity on what the path should look like. We’ve been through it- and we’ve got lamps at the ready to journey alongside you. Learn more about S/4HANA Smart Set-up and how it can streamline your migration process.