My engagement till date with SAP implementation projects be it domestic or global, has exposed me to different approaches and philosophies being adopted by companies, during their SAP journey. And a critical point that I have realized is that when a company takes this strategic decision of implementing a package solution from a specialized vendor like SAP, it should consciously try and avoid combining custom developments to the extent possible.
When referring to custom developments, I am not talking about developing custom reports and interfaces, as these can be essential from business requirement perspective and hence has to be developed. However, companies should preferably not change standard SAP codes and create complex additional functionality which can be difficult to manage later on. On the contrary, it is always advisable to adopt standard SAP best practices and functionality and if possible tweak existing business processes to adapt SAP provided solutions to their problems. This is because, it has been seen on multiple instances that making complex developments on SAP's standard solution has proved catastrophic to the eventual success of the project.
In addition, let me highlight some common mistakes which keep recurring during various stages of SAP implementation lifecycle:
Inadequate requirement gathering: It is extremely important to have a detailed understanding of the business requirement right at the onset of the project. If we have not defined each and every functionality at an early stage, then accommodating them at a later point of time will definitely be resource and time intensive. So a good solution definition not only caters to the current requirements but also maps planned future functionality.
Lack of core team involvement: It should be realized that the technical expertise, system knowledge and prior experience of implementing in similar industry of SAP consultants, are not sufficient to automate business processes on its own. This is because, it is not possible to gather complete information about the business without involvement of key business owners, who should definitely be a part of the dedicated core team. Thus when the business owners are not equally involved in defining the to-be processes, they will not eventually take ownership of the SAP system, and will not assume responsibility for its success and maintenance.
Complex System hard to manage: There are examples wherein companies end up paying more attention to SAP tools and functionalities than their own business processes. It has to be understood that SAP is just a facilitator which will make their processes more efficient. Our primary objective should be to build a system which will make processes more efficient and not a complex one. This is because we can come up with a system which has all possible functionalities SAP provides and is theoretically right, but might not be very useful at the end due to issues like transaction volume, cost-benefit analysis, human resources etc. On the same lines, it is better to use SAP's standard offerings wherever possible than go for custom developments, as mentioned at the very beginning of this blog. These customizations can become potential issues while implementing new functionality or during upgrades at a later point of time.
Ineffective change management: We have to accept that with every SAP project, there will be change in functions, positions and ways of doing things. Hence, neglecting this soft aspect of change management can be a costly mistake. No matter how mature an organization is, it is extremely important to administer these changes through adequate involvement of external consultants, internal stakeholders and HR. Depending on the size of the organization and project, this activity will correspondingly demand commensurate focus.
Finally it probably will be right to conclude that keeping the above factors in mind and taking appropriate measures can contribute significantly to the success of an SAP project.
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