Digital Transformation - The Companions

Typical implementations and enhancements of ERP systems such as SAP are either controlled by IT or by the business departments. In any case, both are required to coordinate.

This process - especially if the planned enhancement does not come directly from SAP but from another software company or service provider (such as cloud services) - then usually still goes through the board or management.

This is where the decision is made, taking into account whether the company has an "SAP only" strategy or favors the best solution on the market with "best of breed". This is no longer sufficient for digital transformation projects.

This is about the digital collaboration of software components that were previously "connected" in analog form. Especially when it comes to establishing cross-departmental connections, several specialist departments are suddenly involved in addition to IT.

Since each department has its own targets and the existing tools and workflows have been established for years, changes create additional complexity.

Presenting the possible alternatives, orchestrating them, and making the right decision when choosing often requires the support of consulting firms.

I had the opportunity to attend the recent E-3 Magazine roundtable with leading SAP partner companies. Even though digital transformation was not the focus, it was very present.

According to the partners, good consulting performance is only possible if the customer looks at solutions top-down in terms of three questions. The first level is the corporate strategy, the expected value of the solution for the company's success, and how the planned solution fits in with this.

This is independent of solutions, costs, providers, etc. It is about where the customer is today and where he wants to go. What is needed here is not so much solution sales, but the trusted advisor who works with the customer to break down the corporate strategy into measurable values and prioritize them.

Examples of e-commerce may include customer loyalty, revenue through service, sustainability, turnover rate, channel conflict, and customer satisfaction.

In the context of digital transformation, it is also important in this step what the customer's strategy is (e.g., offline/online/platform) and which of the existing internal and external data silos it would like to play with in the future.

The second step involves the business processes. These usually run through several departments, cost and profit centers. Here, each department has its own view and prioritization, which can lead to the first conflicts.

Due to the planned digital connection between departments and externally, these are to be considered as parts of the business processes.

Only in the third step are the technologies discussed and decided. Through the preliminary work, at least the target parameters are defined.

The quality of the Trusted Advisor is particularly important now. Which solutions fit which interfaces? What is in the pipeline from the respective manufacturers of the existing solutions such as SAP and does not have to be procured separately or what is already in-house through existing licenses? What other components are available on the market?

Here, the Trusted Advisor must provide a neutral market overview. His or her tasks include scanning the market objectively, and not just suggesting what he or she knows well.

In the area of tension of digital transformation, the question of the single source of truth, i.e., that there is only one place for data to be generated from in each case and that this applies to all departments and the company's own business environment.

Data harmonization issues will arise very quickly, including the consolidation of different data models. SAP itself is affected by this, as the various acquisitions bring their own data models with them. Digital transformation includes not only digital workflows, but also the optimal evaluation of data.