SAP S/4HANA Transformation Consulting Skill

[arghadipkar3013]

Introduction

Everyone will eventually move to SAP S/4HANA and it is a wonderful thing for us as well as Customers. I am going to jot down some dos and don'ts that I have gathered in my 5 years of SAP to S/4HANA Transformation. My Greatest success is to make a Customer Happy.

Dos

• Try to understand what they have. I will expect you to analyze their ECC System and present them Observation rather than asking what Process you have. Remember they are paying you and you are not there to ask them Questions.

• Try to provide small Tips which can help them in your current Environment. Trust me this goes a long way. I have some users who still appreciates those tips and they remember you every time they use that.

• Try to put yourself in their Seat. Listen to their Concern and their Pain point.


• Try to understand their Business based on the Data they have.


• Set the expectation straight. Please do not commit on something that is not possible and not included in the Budget. For sure give them what they currently have or better the solution.

• I love to work in an Agile Methodology as there is no Surprises and you can expect proactive reaction beforehand.

• Identify the Pain Points from the Customers.

• Listen diligently and acknowledge them. Sometime we also need to be the Consultant who can speak as a Friend.

• Trust me I learn more from Customers that I can give them and it can be SAP stuff as well as Business Process Knowledge.

• Show the Wow factor of SAP S/4HANA. The speed does not buy much as they are smart and they will say the Database table is empty. Wow factor can be all the Graphics/Charts in SAP Fiori Apps. You can also show the Predictive Apps which is really great.

• I think when Transforming you can give the analogy of SAP ECC as your Old Home where you were Born and Brought up. SAP S/4HANA can be the new Home you are moving to. Customers will Love to cherish their childhood memories. You do not need to spoil that saying SAP ECC was bad.

• Remember one thing Customer is your Friend and help them and if something is not possible make them understand why it is and the Limitation.

DON'T

• Never ever tell your SAP ECC is not that great. Remember the System was Built with so much Hard Work and emotion and every Enhancement has a Story behind and lets be Honest this is something that is already running in Production. S/4HANA is yet to be built.


• Please do not propose a solution that is moving backwards instead moving forward. If some solution is running with 5 Clicks in SAP ECC in SAP S/4HANA.

• Please do not force Users to use Fiori who love to work in Keyboards. The Super Users who spends more than 1 hour in SAP generally will prefer to use the GUI provided it is a Non-Cloud solution. For me give them the option of using FIORI and it is up to them if they wish to use it. Imagine you are in a Restaurant and the Waiter is rather Dictating what food you should Eat. You can influence them but the choice is theirs. Remember CUSTOMER IS GOD

• Please do not have Workshops without Agenda. I have seen we have too many Meetings without any outcomes.


• Never provide only one solution to the Problem. Remember if you wish to provide only one Solution it becomes like a Forceful approval.


• If the current ECC has some Custom Logic built and the Business Process is not changing please let them know they will get those in S/4HANA regardless you have to enhance the Standard Report.

• Never assume anything in Life same in Projects :). Everything needs to be in a document signed off and if possible add flowcharts.

I always use these above Principles in every Project and I would love to hear Comments on this. This Blog will be updated more with my journey in S/4HANA Transformation.

 

 

[lmonges]

Nice post my friend. We sometimes forget this basic tips. Our work like consultants is help customers.

[m-skrzyniarz]

I disagree.

A good consultant isn't there to comfort the customer and make sure that they stay happy, despite being in big sh*t because of the years of bad work they've been doing (or worse - paying somebody to do). A good consultant should draw the line between the past and the future. If past (ECC) is bad - tell them it's bad and that they are losing potential and that transforming to S/4HANA in a proper way intends to get rid of their past mistakes.

If a consultant joins a project, sees a mess and instead of flagging it decides to join the mess and carry on with it - they are useless. Being assertive is probably the most important trait a consultant should have.

My 2 cents, happy to hear other thoughts.

[Rohit_Zalani]

Hi All,

I agree with m-skrzyniarz -- but we do need to understand the leadership vision and help them drive the change that is needed. The intent of going into SAP or moving onto a Digital solution like S4 HANA should not be just a technical necessity -- it should be loaded with the process improvements and adoption of best practices so that you can be agile and adopt to industry standards. This helps in rapid deployments, expansions and mergers if the processes are aligned. 

I was on a project where the CEO and CFO told us in the consultants kick off meeting that they expect us to drive the process improvements and they were looking at an external force to do that since doing it internally is generally a challenge. Also, they would like the business teams to understand how the world has adopted to standardized and simplified processes as against a show of the technical expertise and capabilities to define custom solutions. Change is painful, but our job is to provide the canvas and be the change agents to paint the canvas on which the client would draw their success and the future.