Speeding Up ROI for RISE and SAP S/4HANA Cloud Implementations

⇨ Organizations should leverage pre-configured S/4 Hana solution for your industry and save time on implementation.

⇨ Organization change management OCM is master stroke for SAP success.

⇨ Cloud mindset is an absolute must-have for quick management decision and faster SAP implementations.

The speed at which a product reaches the target market is what determines its ultimate success and business value. The concept “product time to market,” can have a significant impact on your organization’s competitive position, profitability, and customer satisfaction. The shorter the time to market is, the quicker there is a return on investment (ROI). The quicker the product gets on the market, the bigger the market share the company will get — especially in an unaddressed segment facing less competition which provides better profit margins.

SAP S/4HANA and RISE with SAP offer a foundational promise to give customers simpler and faster access to the intelligent suite so that they can take greater advantage of innovation in the cloud. Now with a gazillion uses cases readily available for moving your IT workloads to the cloud, it is a no-brainer — 80% of CIO by now have kicked-off their cloud journeys. Over the last five years, we have helped two dozen plus CIOs and businesses break down and compare business value not only by business process reengineering but also by understand and dissecting finely written cloud contracts with hyperscaler plans and large IT vendors quotes versus Big Four Advisory to match organizational strategic vision statements. Time and again we see multi-million, multi–country wave plans and system implementation contracts deliver the same SAP cloud solution with the lowest time to market (TTM).

For any SAP solution, the only way consulting organizations can add value to any cloud digital transformation is to offer the fastest time to market offering in a way that provides the fastest benefits and greatest market share. In this blog, let’s look at some of the key aspects that ensure a successful S/4HANA implementation and how YASH helps its customers achieve rapid ROI on their S/4 transformation journey.

Pathway to the Fastest Time to Market

1. Fit-to-standard

SAP S/4HANA and S/4HANA Cloud are adding several important features and functions to enable informed processes and agile delivery models compared to previous ERP solutions. SAP Activate and YASH’s SMPLE Methodology were designed with these concepts in mind. Staying close to the standard (enforces standards) and minimal design ensures faster implementation, better ROI, and lower cost of ownership in the future by getting the best SAP business.

However, in many cases, customers are looking for some customization and flexibility in the main solution because they find it difficult to follow the standard best business practices. At YASH, we solve this problem by following what we call a business-first approach, where innovation is rooted in business value.

These changes are prioritized based on their importance to the brand and possibly business value. They are separated into the user experience layer of the solution while keeping the core S/4 solution. This always ensures that the implementation is fast and the cost of ownership is low since little changes are made to the core of the solution. It also provides important advantages in the form of power, as it makes the future addition of new SAP systems released and software upgrades faster, because SAP has already done most of the work for you. This ensures that integrated systems are already working, as opposed to what would happen if cultural development was included.

2. Leveraging Pre-configured Solutions

In addition to adopting standard SAP functionality, enabling customized solutions and security-specific solutions designed by the implementer continues to ensure rapid implementation. Rather than starting from scratch, having a structured workflow allows the project to begin smoothly, resulting in faster deployment. SAP’s Baseline activation service provides a pre-configured explore environment within weeks, personalized to the customer and enriched with customer sample data. This helps the customer visualize and consume the SAP leading practices like business processes, supporting documents, and tools that are relevant to your industry and save you significant time.

At YASH, with our deep expertise in the implementation of SAP for 600+ customer in different geographies, we have created a model pre-configured for your industry type as you prepare for your S/4HANA preconfigured solution be it manufacturing, retail, pharma, life sciences, fashion or tech. We present our customers with a performance display that has a display. Pre-specified user reports and case studies are then incorporated to identify areas where the client may still need improvement. This reduces custom development and testing, saving time and procedures.

3. A Proven Agile Methodology (SMPLE)

Although the processes in points 1 and 2 above create an agile foundation for the program, the agile process demonstrated for the SAP S/4HANA service delivery period is also necessary to achieve rapid implementation. The agile process implements features in short sprints or iterations through strong team collaboration and increased customer involvement to deliver results quickly and efficiently. Delivering frequent iterations of work allows organizations to understand and adapt quickly to changing business needs and creates quality for the program.

YASH’s unique SMPLE methodology provides agile framework tools to deliver more cost-effective S/4 applications. The SMPLE process includes more operational and risk mitigation features than those provided by SAP Activate, including enterprise-focused solutions pre-configured and fast for data migration, testing, training and documentation to guarantee uptime quick refund. YASH SMPLE methodology advocates saving weeks and months’ worth of time in any traditional blueprinting timeline with Discovery session showing S/4HANA SAP Screen to business users on Day-1 to understand changes and requirements.

4. Organization Change Management

Even with the best systems, well-planned methods, and the right tools, S/4 implementation projects can fail if change management problems are not addressed quickly. Targeted change management involvement early in the project can improve user engagement and involvement in the design and development of the solution, leading to greater enthusiasm and adoption and greater ROI. At YASH, we have a robust configuration change management system that meets the diverse needs of multiple stakeholders when implementing S/4. We fully understand the impact of implementing S/4 on business dynamics, people, and operations. Our OCM process enables customer flexibility and helps minimize any disruptions.

Similarly, the involvement of quality engineering or testing teams from the preparation process helps to strengthen quality throughout the project, requiring less back-testing and speeding up project implementation.

YASH has a strong engineering practice that builds customer confidence in solutions throughout the project lifecycle. This enables our customers to benefit from real business and operational benefits during their S/4 transformation journey. These two actions achieve these goals and support the speed of each project.

5. The Right Customer Mindset

Although proprietary systems and standardized applications support rapid migration, an organization must prioritize change as business is critical to enterprise ownership. The importance of the work in the future of the organization and its ability to compete in an increasingly digital world must be understood by those who support the leaders and those who work every day. An important factor in ensuring rapid implementation is the commitment and willingness of an organization to adhere to those standards as closely as possible.

The customer must be willing to forgo processes that may not be necessary because of the robust solution provided by SAP S/4. Finally, this concept must be consistent across the organization, and all stakeholders agree on a process to avoid unnecessary negotiations and processes supported by outdated technology.

A company’s capacity to reduce its SAP S/4HANA cloud time to market for innovations is the key differential when it comes to success and business value. A speedy TTM will ensure that your product is out to consumers as soon as possible. This will give you an edge over competitors. Consider carefully whether you should focus on making your resources or your workflow more efficient. This will have a significant impact on how effectively and efficiently your innovation investments will be managed.