In the jungle, you often only see the next tree. It’s only when you pause for a moment and map the terrain that you can see where the paths really lead.
In S/4HANA projects, I often hear the phrase: “We’ll stay as close to the SAP standard as possible.” That sounds right – and it is the right ambition. The question is: on what basis is that decision being made?
My experience from 20 years of SAP consulting: the best results have always come when a complete, cross-functional process visualization took place before implementation – from Level 1 (scenario) all the way down to Level 5 (activity).
What is often underestimated: during this joint analysis, the business units involved engage with the process in a meaningful way for the very first time – not with its day-to-day execution, but with the process as a whole. This shift in perspective regularly brings things to light that remain invisible in normal operations: weak points, system breaks, and not infrequently automated sub-processes that nobody remembers setting up in the first place.
Sometimes we are already in the middle of a gap analysis – and suddenly an aspect of the as-is process surfaces that was missed during the initial discovery. Often because a particular edge case only occurs once a year and simply wasn’t top of mind.
And last but not least, this is also where team building begins: the people and teams who will work together on the transformation project have the opportunity to develop early team structures – long before the real project pressure sets in.
This type of analysis pays off in multiple ways: the project gets a solid foundation. The business unit understands its own processes better than before. And the team comes together early.
My conclusion: not every project starts with a dedicated analysis phase – and there are often good reasons for that. But where it is possible, the investment almost always pays off.
#SAP #S4HANA #ProcessDesign #BestPractice #Transformation
