IT Excellence
Tailored IT solutions for leading ERP performance
Roland Berger's strategic IT consulting provides innovative solutions to the challenges posed by the digital economy. Using our technical knowledge and analytical skills as well as an in-depth understanding of business relationships, we work with organizations to develop tailored IT strategies, tools and processes.
Our IT excellence practice demonstrates remarkable proficiency in the areas of IT strategy, assessment, and business IT transformation.
The adeptness in IT strategy encompasses enterprise architecture management and IT operating models, ensuring a harmonious alignment with overarching business objectives. We excel in conducting comprehensive IT assessments, encompassing maturity checks, cost benchmarking, process mining, and project health evaluations, thereby discerning precise areas for enhancement. In the realm of business IT transformation, we evince leadership in steering ERP transformations, optimizing IT costs, overseeing IT carve-outs and PMI, as well as driving automation initiatives, thereby expertly shepherding organizations through intricate technological transitions.
In sum, we multifaceted competencies, deep field experiences and successful management of projects, deliver strategic value and secure transformative change for our clientele.
"S/4HANA based business transformation is a once in life time opportunity to bring your company to the next level, gain full transparence in your process portfolio, make it a better place to work and become leader in automation and efficiency to be a leader in challenging markets and digitalization."
SAP S/4HANA: First and foremost a business transformation
SAP's S/4HANA is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for large organizations. It replaces the previous version, SAP R/3. Some companies have already migrated to the new software or are in the process of doing so, while others still have this challenging task ahead of them.
The S/4HANA migration is a business transformation first and an IT transformation second. Organizations should ensure any transition achieves clear improvements throughout the business. In doing so, they should look beyond their traditional peers and learn instead from ambitious best-practice examples.
Why modern IT is a catalyst for success
In parallel with the S/4HANA migration, companies also need to embark on a journey of true digital transformation by automating processes and making data available everywhere.
This brings two main benefits: firstly, it enables a business to maximize the potential of its ERP transformation through faster processes and lower total cost of ownership; and secondly, it supports higher margins.
Our study “Beyond efficiency gains” presents clear empirical data supporting what we call the "dividend of IT modernization." Modernizing IT offers a high return on investment, unlocking capacity to invest in improved security, resilience, innovation and business value creation. It is a catalyst for success across almost all industries.
Main challenges during SAP S/4HANA implementation
S/4HANA is an excellent way to achieve end-to-end digitalization. But implementing ERP projects is challenging, as many high-profile companies have found. The pressure to undergo the transformation is on as support for SAP R/3 ends in 2027. So far, just 20-30% of SAP's customers already made the transition to S/4HANA.
A successful approach to migration requires thorough project management, ideally with external support. Experts recommend sticking closely to the software manufacturer's specifications when it comes to business processes to avoid costly adjustments. Involve those who will actually use the software as early as possible during the process. And keep sufficient personnel capacity free in IT: other tasks will have to wait.
ERP software controls companies' central business processes such as accounting, merchandise management and controlling. It forms the central nervous system of the organization – any problems here can have a major impact on the business, potentially even paralyzing it.
The most common problems reported by company leaders during migration from legacy systems include undefined strategic goals and insufficient links to IT modernization. Factors like these hinder the implementation, make it difficult to track progress, prevent staff engagement and can lead to missed opportunities and synergies.
According to a Roland Berger survey in 2022, the six main obstacles during S/4HANA implementation are:
- Undefined strategic goals
- Lack of business case and value assurance
- Insufficient linkage with IT modernization
- Insufficient demand management
- Integration complexity underrated
- Inherent cost risk in the contract with the system integrator
How we can help
We advise drawing on the support of an external advisor to assist you through your SAP S/4HANA transformation . Roland Berger can provide value and quality assurance, backed up with a powerful suite of tools and benchmarks that supply data around which to build your transformation objectives and strategies.
With our support you will be able to set clear, measurable KPIs to improve your business processes and encourage innovation. We can help you think beyond the here and now to imagine what greenfield processes will be capable of by leveraging automation, data and AI. A "design-to-budget" approach helps avoid costs spiraling out of control.
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