How to Choose the Right SAP Partner for Your Business

An immense network of SAP partners, consultants, and support services exists. This large network allows organizations to move to SAP with value-added tools, training, and professional advice to capitalize on SAP as much as possible.
It is essential for any organization that wants to leverage the power of SAP attributes a reliable implementation partner. Revenue and workflow efficiency will be significantly impacted or addressed, as well as leveraging the positioning of the organization in the marketplace. Therefore, consider the following important aspects when searching for a partner, which are outlined below.
The performance of your business is improved by qualified SAP specialists who improve SAP Business One’s capabilities through appropriate updates, deployment, and technical expertise. SAP partners like Accely help organizations grow and change by bringing the right value perspective and sufficient need analysis skills.

How SAP Partners Support Key Implementation Stages

The right SAP partner acts as an excellent guide throughout the entire SAP implementation process, tailoring it to your business strategy, smooth and efficient to its goals. A partner would begin with the discovery process where they establish your needs and build a solution around those needs. Later comes the configuration and customization stage where they tailor SAP capabilities to your processes, so the partner ensures every step is bringing value. The following steps are involved in the intricate process of implementing SAP:

Project Preparation

• Establish a specific team of high-qualified people that offer practice, industry, and collaborative excellence dedicated to project success.
• Draw together explicit challenges, objectives, and the value expectations for your company, so the solution can address both immediate needs as well as longer-term strategic objectives.
• Develop a comprehensive plan or define workflows, steps, current and process characteristics, and system requirements.

System Configuration and Realization

• Customizing SAP modules, configurations, and connectors precisely aligns with the processes, legal requirements, and performance goals of your business.
• Moving, cleaning, and validating business data from old legacy systems into the new SAP environment to ensure correctness, consistency, and readiness for going operations.
• Pre-go-live testing of data flows, system interactions, and end-to-end business processes to confirm that all SAP modules and linked systems work as one unit.

Go-Live and Post-Implementation Support

• Users are taught through appropriate training, or technical support, to assist in the use of the SAP system in their daily activities.
• Real-time support and monitoring are offered during the SAP system go-live to ensure a smooth transition and to attend urgently to any issues that may arise.
• Another aspect of the implementation team applies ongoing continuous optimization, support, maintenance, troubleshooting, etc., required to keep the SAP system up and running before any change in company perspective.

Utilizing SAP Methodologies and Tools

• SAP Activate methodology aims to ease and fast-track SAP implementations and business transformations through provisions of best practices, guided configuration, and agile concepts.
• SAP Cloud ALM for Implementation is a cloud-based application lifecycle management platform, providing an effective way to plan, manage, and improve SAP project implementations.
• SAP Preferred Success is aimed at helping organizations lay out a path to maximize adoption and capture value from their solutions in the future with clear, actionable direction, overwhelming knowledge of best practice methods, and with support from certified partner organizations.

In each of these phases, they describe a measured structure for the implementation of SAP to help reduce risk and increase potential success.

Why Your SAP Partner Choice Impacts Business Performance

Is there an association between business transformation and company success? It is obvious. What occurs, though, when one of your most valuable possessions is in incompetent hands? These days, SAP ERP systems are an essential corporate resource. Unfortunately, a number of SAP partner organizations fall short of their promises or fail to provide their clients with full services. Over the last 12 months, Accely’s clientele has grown by (insert percentage). The unexpected outcome is that (add percentage) of the new customer companies were looking for a change in relationship. Why is this necessary?

• The inability to help clients upgrade outdated cloud systems
• The lack of a personalized approach to the client’s problem
• The lack of understanding regarding contemporary technologies such as AI, ML, etc., and ERP modernization
• Insufficient assistance for implementing various SAP modules

These problems are motivating SMEs to change their SAP partners by finding firms which can better understand their needs and assist them with specifics. Furthermore, they are looking forSAP partners which are focused on Industry-Specific SAP. Accely, as one of the successful partners using SAP Software, creates industry specific solutions around industries that include manufacturing, retail, and agriculture.

Key Considerations when Choosing an SAP Partner

Choosing the best SAP S/4HANA migration experts for strategy is also crucial to overcoming migration obstacles. Companies frequently choose between three primary migration options: hybrid, brownfield, and greenfield. Each has special benefits for various business situations. See our blog post on Greenfield vs. Brownfield vs. Hybrid – SAP S/4HANA Migration to examine these strategies in greater detail and discover which is most appropriate for your company.

SAP Certification and Partnership

Partnering with a SAP partner who is certified and who has certified qualifications ensures that your vendor is going to surpass the performance, quality, and expertise level that SAP requires. Certified partners receive access to the latest SAP tools, resources, and upgrades; and have proven technical abilities and industry expertise. A formal relationship with SAP ensures a partner has closely held access to solutions to ensure innovations can be adopted quickly, faster issue resolution, and established best practices. This ensures that you receive the maximum value and long-term performance of your SAP investment while providing reduced implementation risk.

Industry Expertise and Experience

The industry knowledge of a SAP partner can significantly impact the overall outcome of your deployment. Some partners have past experience in your industry with successful outcomes so they understand the specific regulatory issues, operational challenges and best practices that pertain to your organization. They are more equipped to deal with potential trouble spots, integrate SAP solutions into industry-standard systems, and customize them for your operations. Partners must also leverage knowledge of similar projects and be mindful of future needs. They can speed your time to value, mitigate customization risk, and maximize your return on investment.

Technical Competence

It is crucial to have technical competency. This includes knowledge of SAP best practices, procedures, and technologies. The vendor must also have a team of qualified SAP consultants that have experience with the latest SAP systems, strong project management methodologies to engage in implementation projects, including well-defined processes around project planning, project progress execution, and quality assurance.

Project Methodology and Support

Your SAP partner’s project methodology has a direct impact on the quality, speed, and success of your deployment. Seek partners with a clear, structured process that incorporates best practices, agile concepts, and milestones such as SAP Activate. A well-defined strategy can reduce risk to your company by establishing standards for the execution of tested scenarios and deployments and a guided plan for project modifications. To make sure that your transformation journey is in line with both short-term requirements and long-term goals, the right partner can also help you select the best migration strategyGreenfield, Brownfield, or Hybrid—based on your business goals and the state of the systems.

Culture Fit

Alignment as a culture fit with your company and your SAP partner can foster a stronger project alignment, collaboration, and communication. Having similar tolerances in beliefs, work ethic and problem-solving approaches will make it easier to develop trust, and maintain transparency through a project if you and your partner are aligned.Cultural alignment is one more consideration when planning for team integration, dealing with barriers, and navigating change. When working with a collaborating partner that has some alignment in terms of communication style, decision-making style and emphasis on delivering successful outcomes, it translates into a more effective and rewarding collaboration, as can be witnessed through successful project delivery and outcomes.

References and Client Testimonials

Evaluating the prior performance of a SAP partner by looking at references and customer reviews offers important information about their skills, dependability, and working style. Direct conversations with former clients provide insight into how the partner managed challenges and deadlines and offered value beyond the original proposal. Endorsements, case studies, and detailed success stories all help confirm their success with similar projects or areas of expertise. Aside from technical expertise, a partner with a strong history of client evaluations lends credibility underlined by a commitment to long-term partnerships and client satisfaction.

Long-term Support

Ongoing assistance and maintenance are essential to guarantee the system functions efficiently and provides the anticipated advantages. This covers services for system upgrades, user training, technical support, and ongoing enhancement.

Levels of SAP Partner Expertise

The experience and skill of an SAP partner include not just the duration of the partnership but also their history of successful SAP implementations. Finding a company with experience in your business specialty is crucial since they will be better aware of the particular difficulties and needs you have.

The Most Common Mistakes When Choosing an SAP Partner

The first and most common mistake is to choose a product or supplier without a clear objective in mind. The ability to envision and, preferably, document the modules you will need is essential. System performance, storage management, and compliance requirements are also addressed early on in the project rather than as afterthoughts. This is achieved by having clarity on complementing procedures, such as how to install SAP Data Archiving in your company.

Inadequate Planning and Scope

Without proper planning, critical functionalities could be missed, priorities may change in mid-course, and client needs could be misconstrued. This often results in increased spend, longer schedules and confused expectations between you and your partner. Before you partner, it is essential to establish a clearly defined scope and then bolster the scope with measurable milestones and success criteria to ensure that everyone is orientated in the same direction.

Ignoring Business Goals and Requirements

When selecting an SAP partner, if you purely base your decision on their technology skillset, without properly linking the project to your business requirements and objectives, you’ll very likely implement nice-looking solutions that have no value. The installed software may not address strategic priorities, operational needs, and growth plans if you haven’t closely considered your business goals and needs. A lack of consideration can lead to lost opportunities for process improvement, duplication of functionality and low levels of end-user acceptance. The first step in your SAP project is to determine a partner that can demonstrate its understanding of your company goals, challenges, and KPIs. This partner will ensure that each component, integration, and enhancement is for a clear business purpose.

Underestimating Implementation Costs

Direct and indirect costs, including training, change management, data strategies, integrations, customisations, and further ongoing support are often ignored, under-appreciated, or undervalued. This can cause delays, costs beyond budget, tension in your working relationship with the partner and issues with the project completion. Depending on the level of complexity, every cost direct and indirect, should be fully considered, including contingencies. This will also lead to avoiding unnecessary surprises. A well thought out project budget will ensure that it remains financially viable from the outset through to its operation for years to come.

Neglecting Change Management

Failing to account for change management activities included stakeholder engagement and training, and communications can lead to low adoption, resistance to using the solution, and confusion. Overall productivity can go down, and you will leave much of the value of the system on the table if employees do not have a deliberate plan to transition to new processes and technology. A qualified SAP partner will include change management in the project plan, to provide users with training, help and information needed along the way. This reduces confusion, and enhances long-term adoption and value of the solution.

Poor Data Migration Strategy

The data is the foundation of any SAP system; therefore, utilize a poor data migration process and you could be putting your implementation at risk. Not migrating, or partially migrating data, and either inconsistent or incorrect data can all lead to poor reporting, interruptions to business operations from poor data, and user frustration. Many organizations fail to recognize how difficult, not planning for enough time, the cleansing, mapping, and validating data is when migrating from one system to a new structure. If the migration plan does not exist, you could also lose or corrupt critical data that can affect decision-making and everyday operations. The ideal SAP partner should prioritize data integrity and create a transparent migration process from the start. They should communicate their process for the migration, test their migration from end to end, and involve business stakeholders throughout the entire process.

Skipping Testing

Avoiding testing or skipping a testing phase may result in having subtle errors, performance issues, or even integration problems becoming evident only after go-live; at which point it will be too late and too expensive to fix. Proper testing involves performance testing, user acceptability testing, integration testing, and unit testing, to confirm that the system functions as intended in real-world cases. Good SAP partners will structure testing even with end users early on, develop a testing strategy containing clear criteria, and solve all the issues up front before going live. Testing thoroughly builds more confidence that the system is working properly and more stable when it is important to minimize disruption after go-live.

Over-Customization

Extensive customization may lead to more complex maintenance requirements that are hard and costly to update in the future, will take a longer time for implementation, and cost more to implement. Customized features often unnecessarily add complexity by reproducing already traditional SAP functions. The best partners would always strive to implement SAP functionality first, and only add to the functionality where they see definitive, measurable advantages. Customization used lightly will assure that your system is adaptable, easier to maintain, and in keeping with SAP’s evolving roadmap.

Choosing the Wrong Implementation Partner

If you select a SAP partner without understanding their combined experience, knowledge of your industry and experience in doing so, an implementation can quickly get off on the wrong foot before it has even started. A suitable partner may not have the necessary project management experience, ingredients for cultural fit or required technical skills to fulfill your organization’s expectations which often leads to unrealistic expectations, unpredictable communication and sub-quality deliverables that do not produce value from your SAP investment. A considered selection process which explores references, case studies, qualifications and methodologies will help your organization ensure that the partner that you engage possesses the adequate experience and knowledge to make the right technical decisions and provide the right strategic recommendations to help your organization achieve ongoing success.

Ignoring Security

Without adequate data protection, compliance audits or access controls, sensitive information can be compromised, or worse accessed by unauthorized individuals. Security must be included in all facets of design and configuration and, just as security must be incorporated into ongoing maintenance, security must not be an afterthought. A qualified SAP partner will treat security as its first priority, and it will have best practices in place from day one for user roles, encryption, monitoring and compliance.

Not Planning for Post-Go-Live Support

In absence of a formal post-go-live support plan minor issues can quickly become major disruptions that damage user confidence and system reliability. Gaps in post-go-live support are often due to your organization’s inertia, such as not transferring information to the internal team, which includes a lack of monitoring and lack of help desk resources. From technical troubleshooting to system optimization, the ideal SAP partner will provide continual support services to guarantee seamless operations, user adoption, and ongoing development.