Managing SAP licenses can quietly become one of the biggest cost and compliance risks in large organizations—especially when growth, acquisitions, and major platform changes happen at the same time. That’s the situation Ferromex (part of Grupo México Transportes) faced as it prepared for a major transition: migrating from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA while integrating newly acquired companies that had not previously used SAP.
Ferromex has been running SAP since 1998, and by 2023 the organization was entering a phase where licensing decisions needed to be made with far more precision. The challenge wasn’t simply “buying more”; it was aligning what was contractually agreed, what was actually needed, and what would make sense for the future—without losing control of cost, terms, or risk.
The challenge: growth, contract complexity, and a critical transition
Ferromex needed to make licensing decisions under increasing complexity:
- A live S/4HANA migration effort (starting in 2023), which can change user types, usage patterns, and licensing assumptions.
- Integration of acquisitions, adding users and potentially expanding the SAP module footprint.
- Contract sprawl, with 46 contracts and addenda already in place—and expectations that this number could grow.
- Negotiation readiness, requiring a clear view of contract terms, commercial conditions, and whether new proposals truly matched Ferromex’s scale and needs.
In short: Ferromex needed transparency and negotiating leverage based on facts—not guesswork.
What we did: structured analysis and decision support (operational + executive)
VOQUZ Labs focused on solving practical licensing and contract problems rather than pushing a product narrative.
1) Comprehensive review of the licensing landscape
We performed a detailed review of Ferromex’s 46 SAP-related contracts and addenda, mapping key conditions, obligations, and potential points of friction—especially those likely to become more costly or risky during growth and migration.
2) Scenario modeling to support better decisions
Based on that contract review, we identified conditions that could be improved and helped Ferromex evaluate alternative scenarios that were more aligned with their real-world footprint and future direction.
3) Deep review of SAP’s latest commercial proposal
When SAP provided a commercial proposal, we conducted an in-depth assessment to identify:
- Unfavorable commercial conditions
- Misalignment with Ferromex’s actual volume and usage
- Meaningful differences when compared to reference pricing and common market conditions
Importantly, we delivered the analysis in two formats:
- A detailed operational report for the team working day-to-day with licensing and execution
- An executive-ready version focused on decision-making and negotiation strategy
Problems solved: moving from uncertainty to informed negotiation
The most meaningful outcome wasn’t “disrupting” a long-term vendor relationship—Ferromex described their relationship with SAP as stable and positive over many years. The real shift was improving the quality of the conversation.
With a clearer, evidence-based view of contracts and proposals, Ferromex gained:
- More concrete elements to negotiate and rebalance the table
- Clearer dialogue grounded in terms, usage reality, and commercial benchmarks
- A stronger ability to pursue mutual-benefit scenarios—without accepting avoidable risk or cost
This turned a complex mix of contracts, addenda, and proposal assumptions into a more defendable decision framework.
The role of automated solutions
As part of the engagement, Ferromex leveraged samQ in a supporting role. In practical terms, the value of automated solutions in this context is consistency: helping teams maintain reliable visibility and governance as user populations shift, acquisitions come in, and S/4HANA migration changes how systems are used.
Ferromex continued renewals and evaluated additional modules, reflecting a focus on maintaining control and continuity rather than treating licensing as a one-time project.
Summary: what Ferromex took away
By the end of the project, Ferromex had:
- A deep review of 46 contracts and addenda
- Identification of adverse commercial conditions in recent SAP proposals
- Stronger operational and executive readiness for negotiation
- Improved strategic clarity for the transition to SAP S/4HANA
- A more structured approach to ongoing license governance supported by automated solutions (including samQ)
