S/4 - fixed star for the system of the day after tomorrow

A well-known technology group with 250,000 employees in 33 countries. Eight divisions from five continents report to the CFO. There is no standardized reporting, but eleven different charts of accounts.

The CIO is master of 14 different ERP systems, and the processes are largely not harmonized. We meet them both on the sidelines of a global symposium in Barcelona.

S/4 Hana is now a much-discussed topic in the company. Management knows that the transformation must be completed by 2025. The business units expect a Digital Core to be established as the basis for the company's own digitization strategy.

The IT boss is under pressure. He wants to start S/4 activities as soon as possible. But how? He is unsettled, and no wonder. There is more than enough information. He recognizes many detailed topics, but has no clear picture in mind.

Example: The Oracle database license is expiring. Should he renew the license or go straight to a Hana database? A roadmap is missing.

Project Approach and Sweet Spot of Transition

Almost half an hour the CIO has reported to us, with Rioja, stuffed fillet of beef and Crema Catalana. After dessert, it's our turn. What does he need for his journey into the new SAP world? First of all, a travel plan.

Together with the management, the task is to build an individual roadmap for the next three years. This includes all preparatory projects up to the transition. One fixed star is important here: the derivation of the so-called "sweet spot of transition. When is the right time to switch to S/4?

In the present case of the high-tech giant, it is clear: not before 2023! The dimensions are too big, too many departments are involved, the preparation will take years, after all we are talking about global process landscapes and systems.

However, we are already determining the transition approach today. The drivers come equally from business and IT, depending on the question: Which processes should be tackled - which changes offer potential?

Do I do a radical overhaul and redesign all business processes on the basis of a restructuring (greenfield approach)? Or do I keep my old system landscape and upgrade (brownfield approach)?

The preparations can look very different from company to company. Depending on the target image, which we determine together with the "sweet spot".

There are two dimensions: Which processes, sets of rules, master data, etc. should be available after the changeover and in what form? There is also the question of what the future system landscape should look like from a technical point of view. The preparatory projects are derived from this: Design of completely new processes, far-reaching organizational adjustments, technical activities, optimization of master data.

We are now on our third Café con leche. The CIO and CFO have taken a lot of notes. They ask a few more questions, then suddenly reach for their coats. Time is pressing, a telco with the Brazilian colleagues. Handshakes, quick exit. I'm not sure if my message got through.

Three hours later, we are already on our way to El Prat Airport, when I receive an e-mail from the CIO: "Thank you very much, Mr. Dorsner," it begins, "I am now better sorted! I have understood what the dependencies are. I know the relevance and sequence of the questions we need to clarify in our organization between management, business and IT before we introduce S/4. When do we meet for the next appointment?"

My colleague, Consulting Director in Finance, has been reading along. He smiles. Our customer has obviously understood: As CIO, he doesn't have to manage S/4 alone. He is "only" the quarterback who manages the project. There are many players involved. Because the big questions don't come from IT, they are business questions.