ERP transformation and cloud migration are lucrative, yet highly risky endeavors. This is because it involves more than just an update, adding a new module, or implementing extra features to a system. The process creates a company-wide disruption that ultimately results in improvements.
Taking the leap and migrating to the cloud with ERP solutions like SAP S/4HANA Cloud streamlines your processes, reduces human error, and gathers data for analysis. All of these contribute to improving efficiency and profitability.
Advantages of Cloud Migration and ERP Transformation
ERP transformation is often driven by various factors, including misalignment between the current ERP system and company objectives, disparate software systems across departments, lack of real-time data visibility, or the inability to conduct meaningful analysis and cross-enterprise visibility. Other reasons might involve using legacy ERPs that are no longer updated or the need to transition to new technologies. Regardless of the motivation, transforming your ERP system and migrating to SAP S/4HANA Cloud offers several advantages, such as:
- Facilitating smarter use and processing of data for evaluating and accelerating change
- Improving strategic planning
- Supporting insightful decision-making
- Enhancing company culture
- Harnessing workforce capabilities
Altivate’s 7 Steps to Successfully Plan and Implement Cloud Migration and ERP Transformation
- Identifying the Scope of Work and Goals: Begin by determining the goals and scope of your cloud migration and ERP transformation. Map out business requirements and expectations, set a budget and timeframe, and plan what you hope to accomplish.
- Process Mining: Process mining provides accurate data about your process framework, forming a strong foundation for identifying transformational changes. Solutions like SAP Signavio can offer valuable data from your current systems, which can be combined with human intelligence to create an accurate snapshot of your business operations.
- Shaping and Targeting: Gather initial feedback from significant stakeholders across various company locations and process areas, and hold a blueprint workshop. Decisions about process changes or feature customizations are made at this stage to ensure proper functioning in the new cloud ERP system.
- Defining Scenarios: After initial planning and system customizations have been agreed upon, generate test scenarios and cases to increase commitment to the proposed solutions. This is a significant milestone at the end of the blueprint phase.
- Implementation and Testing: Your consulting partner will process the gathered information, begin implementing the new cloud ERP system, work on configuration, build interfaces with other systems, and create process and decision models and workflows. The testing phase follows, including individual unit tests and integration tests to ensure seamless operation in practice.
- Training and Coaching: This crucial step ensures end-user buy-in and project solidification. Training sessions should be conducted in large deployments, involving those closely involved in previous steps. Change management plays an influential role here, as employees must understand the new system’s functions, updated processes, reasons behind the changes, their roles in the transition, and available support.
- Review and Refine: After the project goes live, the review process begins. Your team starts using the new system and processes, while your consulting partner, such as Altivate, anticipates potential issues and establishes communication channels to address them. Continuous monitoring enables adjustments as needed, ensuring your new system runs at optimal levels.
By upgrading to cloud ERP systems, promoting best practices, and consolidating other IT systems into a single ERP system, you can increase efficiency. Combining this with a process transformation initiative will make your organization more effective.
