How KPMG Firms Use AI and SAP Co-Innovation to Help Accelerate Client Transformations

SAP alliance partners face growing pressure to deliver large-scale transformations predictably and reliably. The market is currently shaped by two parallel dynamics:

• A sustained wave of ERP legacy modernization, requiring organizations to move to SAP Cloud ERP faster while maintaining delivery quality and controlling risk
• A rising expectation to unlock measurable business value from AI, data, and platform innovation on top of cloud investments

As a result, advisors and implementers are now evaluated on how effectively they embed AI into service delivery and translate use into tailored business outcomes.

For KPMG firms, the differentiation lies in how tools like SAP Joule for Consultants, combined with the broader portfolio of KPMG leading industry practices for SAP, can translate into measurable impact for clients.

KPMG has recently deepened its collaboration with SAP becoming an SAP Global Strategic Service Partner (GSSP), expanding joint capabilities across AI-driven transformation and co-innovation.

AI-Driven Delivery as a Differentiator

Valentino Koester, Global Head of the SAP360 Program and SAP AI and Data Lead at KPMG International, explains how KPMG firms are evolving their delivery model. KPMG firms treat AI as an accelerator embedded into disciplined delivery, not a replacement for it. The approach is grounded in the KPMG Trusted AI framework, helping to ensure AI is designed, built, and deployed responsibly, securely, and in line with regulatory and risk requirements.

Before rolling out SAP Joule for Consultants globally, KPMG conducted legal, privacy, and risk reviews across more than 30 member firms to help ensure compliance with data protection and regulatory standards. Early participation in the SAP Joule for Consultants (J4C) program was intentional. KPMG aimed to validate how AI could accelerate delivery in real SAP projects while providing feedback to SAP on product evolution. Koester explains that J4C access allows consultants to “immediately tap into a vast amount of knowledge,” revolutionizing the experience to engage with diverse knowledge bases.

In practice, KPMG teams see three primary impacts:

• Quality: Reviews design and flags potential misalignments with SAP best practices
• Speed: Consultants retrieve relevant guidance through a single interface rather than multiple sources
• Knowledge: Junior staff can immediately leverage validated expertise.

The result is a more consistent, scalable delivery model, where consultants gain access to deep knowledge early in their careers, while still applying professional judgment and experience.

From Bottlenecks to Faster Decisions

One area already changing is the requirements and design phase.

Traditionally, professionals often experience workshop fatigue, long documentation cycles, and fragmented inputs. With SAP Joule for Consultants and an extended AI toolchain, teams can: summarize workshops instantly, highlight requirement gaps and suggest best practices and solution designs aligned to SAP standards. This helps accelerate alignment across business and IT stakeholders while maintaining delivery quality.

Early Impact: What AI-Enabled Delivery Looks Like in Practice

While AI-supported delivery is not yet fully embedded across all engagements, early project experiences provide strong indications of potential impact.

Across multiple SAP programs, KPMG teams have reported measurable improvements in speed, quality, and productivity. In discovery and design phases, selected teams observed:

• Up to 60% faster research cycles
• Higher-quality design artifacts
• Broader and more robust requirement definitions

Trust, Governance, and Delivery Quality

In a faster, AI-enabled delivery environment, trust and control become even more important. KPMG integrates risk management, governance, and delivery quality controls directly into its SAP delivery model, including:

• Structured delivery methodologies and governance frameworks
• Risk and issue management mechanisms
• Executive oversight and quality monitoring
• Alignment with regulatory and compliance requirements

Where AI Is Taking SAP Delivery Next

The SAP transformation landscape is evolving from system implementation to AI-enabled, value-driven enterprise transformation.

Koester expects AI copilots to become embedded across every phase of SAP programs—initially as assistants, and increasingly as executors and orchestrators connecting requirements, design, testing, and training activities. This evolution includes integrated risk and quality controls, as well as seamless access to enterprise-specific knowledge bases and systems.

Despite rapid advances, Koester emphasizes, “In our view, the future of consulting isn’t humans versus AI—it’s humans with AI.”

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Structured methodology drives effective AI-enabled delivery: AI tools such as SAP Joule for Consultants deliver the greatest value when embedded into disciplined delivery frameworks and models.

Co-innovation ecosystems redefine implementation value: KPMG’s status as an SAP Global Strategic Service Partner enables deeper joint engineering, and earlier access to innovation, helping to accelerate the adoption of new capabilities.

Selective transformation strategies are gaining traction: Enterprises are increasingly pursuing phased, value-driven transformations, prioritizing high-impact domains after core migrations—balancing speed, risk, and ROI.

To learn more, visit kpmg.com/sap

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