With the SAP's ERP Central Component deadline looming in, topped off with various issues due to the pandemic, companies are in for a whirlwind as they’re trying to find the best approach to help with their S/4HANA migration.
Ultimately, the transition to S/4HANA is another step to take in their paths to digital transformation. And just like any other journey, now two companies share the exact same journey.
Whether you're here to automate your manual process or simply reduce operational costs, digital transformation means many things to different people. But all these journeys lead to one ultimate goal: obtaining a competitive advantage.
If you’re planning to embark on a digital transformation journey through your S/4HANA migration, you’re in luck. Here are a couple of things executives can consider if you want to make the best out of your S/4HANA migration.
1. Reflect on why you’re choosing S/4HANA
Before starting your S/4HANA migration, you'll need to ask yourself what parts of the system are relevant and beneficial to your digital transformation.
It's tempting to overload yourself with the countless features S/4HANA offers. However, too many of these advantageous features ultimately be a bad thing if you have a hard time using all of them.
So ask yourself: what S/4HANA aspects does my team require in our system? Could it be on the financial side? Or maybe inventory management?
Once you begin questioning these little things, you can also consider whether your organisation requires other system essentials to achieve your goal.
These could include implementing SAP SuccessFactors to support your Human Resources, or maybe a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) on the side.
2. Identifying your business processes
Digital transformation requires not only looking forward to future results but also evaluating your present condition as well.
Besides taking note of your future business processes, it's advisable to jot down your current business processes to understand better what you need to move forward.
Once you have examined your current business processes, you can picture them in a future context and create a roadmap.
This roadmap becomes an essential part of your digital transformation, as it shows you the path to your goal and identifies the potential issues that may occur with migration.
Additionally, identifying your current business processes allows you to pinpoint any existing issues that need to be addressed. For example, you wouldn't want to migrate to a system when you still have problems that have yet to be resolved within your process.
So before you move forward, be sure to take a step back and reflect.
Be sure to check out our S/4HANA e-Guide.
3. Anticipating resource allocation
The switch to S/4HANA is going to take up a lot of manpower. As a result, business leaders are required to effectively divide responsibilities amongst team members.
In one team alone, you’ll have multiple divisions working in sync. There’s your core team, the steering committee, subject matter experts, and your functional leads.
With so much time dedicated to the S/4HANA migration project, leaders can hire new roles to fill these responsibilities or even consult with external subject matter experts.
But suppose you currently do not have the means of obtaining external resources. In that case, it all comes down to how you can effectively run an internal allocation - this also means asking certain team members to perform extra tasks on top of their daily work errands.
4. Preparing your team for change
Let's face it - people are naturally resistant to change. So no matter how advanced the features S/4HANA might bring, your employees will most likely want to stay in their comfort zones.
Management shouldn’t be surprised at the initial lack of enthusiasm towards the S/4HANA migration. Your team will have to learn about the system from scratch and get used to the system.
It can be even more difficult if your employees are so used to doing things manually and having to switch to digital means.
With that said, change management is necessary for this situation. With a change management strategy, business leaders can have open conversations regarding their team's concerns towards the migration.
More importantly, your entire organisation is bound to undergo some significant shifts structure-wise. By instilling change management, you can ensure that these organisational changes do not heavily impact your company's current and future performance.
Related Article: 5 Key Elements of Change Management in ERP Implementation
5. Get in touch with partners
Having a strategic partner available helps provide fresh insight and extra assistance into your S/4HANA migration.
You'll have a great outsider's view of what your S/4HANA migration entails based on their knowledge of the system’s features, the market, and migration experience.
Just make sure you continue to have authority over your internal affairs, especially since you better understand your workforce culture, team members, management, and legal requirements.
If you have a hard time finding the right partner for your S/4HANA migration, look no further. Software-Advisory narrows down your search to help you make a confident choice.
Book a consultation with us today.
Check out our previous article: 5 Tips to Make Your ERP Selection as Simple as Possible
