Choosing an SAP Implementation Partner? Try the Methodology Measuring Stick

By Rory Doherty
Editorial Director, Optimal SAP Advisor

After a painstakingly thorough review process you’ve chosen SAP as your ERP software. You are by now-if by some fluke you weren’t prior to this point-well aware of the potential hazards and high costs of an ERP rollout. Take a breath. You’ve made a good choice in SAP. Now the real challenge begins. Implementation. Will ‘go-live’ be a celebrated milestone in your heretofore illustrious IT career? Or will this day live in infamy with you holding the bill on a busted budget and paying the price with a wickedly bruised rep?

If you haven’t contracted with SAP Consulting Services, chances are you’re reviewing hordes of consulting firms and systems integrators to find a suitable partner to guide you through implementation. You realize this decision is as weighty as selecting the ERP software itself, and that a bad choice could set you back considerably.

But how to know which firm is truly the best fit for your organization and your specific SAP implementation goals? They all claim gads of SAP experience and are quick to feed you cherry-picked references. Many hammer you with their slick, cutely branded SAP implementation methodology. And it is here, with a review of methodology, where you can begin to separate the genuine SAP players from the growing crowd of bandwagon SAP wannabes.

First, when it comes to methodology know this: a disciplined, methodical approach to SAP implementation isn’t optional. It’s a requirement for success in the complex world of enterprise technology. On par with this is a firm’s status as an accredited SAP Services Partner. To qualify for SAP Services partnership, a firm must fulfill rigorous criteria, which includes demonstrating a proven track record with SAP and having a verified support and delivery model. A good-standing partnership with SAP is important, and taking the time to confirm this will help narrow the playing field of potential implementation partners considerably. However, an SAP Services partnership in and of itself should not constitute a green light for engagement.

When evaluating those firms brandishing proprietary SAP implementation methodologies, a good reality check is to assess how closely a particular methodology maps to the SAP AcceleratedSAP (ASAP) methodology. Let’s be honest, with 30+ years of experience and more than 36,000 customers representing 105,000 installations in 120 countries around the world, SAP’s experience implementing its own software is unequaled. The ASAP methodology is intelligently conceived, well constructed and battle proven. It is a tad hubristic, to put it mildly, for a non-SAP firm to purport besting SAP on the implementation methodology front.

Now, having paid proper homage to the ASAP methodology, I’ll put forth a proposition that may on the surface seem contradictory; namely, that an absolute weddedness to ASAP might reveal a firm’s limitation. While ASAP should form the core of any SAP implementation methodology, it is important to note that in the real world, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ methodology, and strict adherence to any rigid, cookie-cutter methodology can have disastrous consequences.

A firm that has truly been around the SAP block a time or two should be able to draw upon an entire suite of proven implementation methodologies-all based on ASAP / ValueSAP-that enables them to select the precise methodology components best suited to address the unique requirements and industry-specific challenges of your specific SAP implementation.

A comprehensive SAP implementation method set should clearly demonstrate proficiency with the SAP Solutions Manager, a Service Portal for the implementation, operation and optimization of your SAP solution, and SAP Best Practices, an accelerator that makes it possible to reduce the evaluation and implementation time by providing preconfigured ERP scenarios that are ready for use out of the box. Lastly, hands-on familiarity and skill with a full repertoire of SAP-endorsed third-party management tools is a must.

A strict methodical approach to SAP implementation plays a central role in containing costs, improving productivity, and maximizing quality, and must cover the entire spectrum of planning, implementation and support activities. But as you slog through your evaluation of consulting firms and systems integrators proudly waving their slickly branded SAP implementation methodologies, I respectfully advise you to keep the following truism in the front of your mind: No amount of marketing polish will ever compensate for a lack of genuine, proven SAP implementation methodology breadth and brawn.