Unlocking business value: Maximizing returns from your SAP investments – IBM Blog

Amid the dynamic realms of modern business and technology, organizations seek to maintain a competitive edge and elevate business outcomes and user experiences through their SAP investments. The crux of this endeavor lies in fostering continuous value creation throughout the journey. Drawing from my experience with clients across expansive, multi-year SAP engagements, there are three areas where collaborative value creation and charting future roadmaps intertwine seamlessly.

1. Value assurance throughout the engagement journey:

Value assurance is the cornerstone of every SAP engagement, ensuring alignment with strategic imperatives, adherence to predefined objectives and delivery of anticipated outcomes. To achieve this, a meticulous comprehension of the client’s requirements, goals and challenges is essential. It is important to structure the engagement journey with periodic assessments, clear milestones and ongoing feedback to ensure the transformation stays on track.

Using structured methodologies such as the IBM® SAP Value Continuum augments this assurance significantly. This comprehensive framework embraces the pillars of cooperate, co-execute and co-create to facilitate collaborative ideation, outcome delineation and executional prowess. This fosters a symbiotic journey towards value realization.

2. Drive micro transformations with process mining:

Micro transformations, characterized by incremental yet impactful alterations, serve as the catalysts for paradigm shifts in business outcomes. Using process mining methodologies unveils latent opportunities for enhancing operational efficiencies, thereby allowing clients to achieve quick wins and build momentum for larger-scale transformations.

Process mining is a powerful service offering that helps organizations identify inefficiencies in business processes and uncover areas for improvement. Whether streamlining order-to-cash processes, optimizing supply chain logistics or enhancing customer experience touchpoints, process mining catalyzes tangible enhancements such as cost reduction, heightened productivity and augmented customer satisfaction.

Process mining can help at every stage of the SAP lifecycle and enables the right decisions at the right time. Some of the key use cases are as follows:

• Process analysis: Mine critical processes for process behaviors, deviations and KPIs. Establish a performance baseline.
• Process visualization: Convert results into models or develop to collaborate and enrich. Establish as-is processes.
• Comparison and enrichment: Compare to industry best practices. Adjust for unique processes. Adopt standards and define critical unique processes.
• Simulation and measurement: Generate embedded business cases for value realization, including cost, time, resource and bottleneck impact. 
• Opportunity identification: Analyze process performance, blockers, root cause and recommendations. Get improvements and a business case.

3. Infusing latest technology trends:

In an era where mere stability is not enough, relentless innovation takes the lead. Constant evaluation of evolving business needs, coupled with technologies and product features, defines the pathway to market differentiation. Embracing the right blend of new technological trends such as generative AI (gen AI), RPA and new SAP products and features (such as BTP, Joule, SAP Build) resonates at every stage of the SAP lifecycle. As you work to achieve this balance, focus on:

• A strong foundation: Build the fact base to confidently move forward with SAP S/4HANA-enabled transformation decisions and SAP technology roadmap using advisory frameworks such as IBM® Rapid Discovery.
• Transformation: Co-execute your transformation journey by moving ERP to cloud with RISE with SAP and IBM ManagePlus offerings.
• Next-gen managed services: Deploy noiseless operations with gen AI-enabled digital operations and modernized ways of working.
• Sustainable and continuous innovation: Achieve continuous micro-transformations with intelligent process mining, SAP clean core capabilities and extreme automation.

A holistic approach to value creation in SAP engagements is essential to ensure that clients achieve their desired business outcomes. By focusing on value assurance throughout the engagement journey, driving micro-transformations with process mining, infusing the latest technology trends like gen AI and achieving high business outcomes, organizations embark on a transformative journey to achieve their strategic objectives.

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