sap tips

they're written on. How many times can we read bland clichés like “if you don't plan ahead, your project will fail?” Of course, we all recognize the importance of strategic planning. But how do we really determine a successful project approach from an unsuccessful one? With this edition of SAPtips, we're delighted to present a brilliant article on SAP® Project Management that digs deep into SAP and goes well beyond the standard pretty-sounding advice. Why does this article work? We think it's because the author, Tomas Fertig, has worked his way up from hands-on SAP consultant to Practice Manager. Tomas has tasted project successes and failures firsthand, and his passion for SAP keeps him on top of the latest technologies. This twenty-page guide is filled with sharp insights on the best ways to approach SAP projects and the missteps to avoid. Tomas covers everything from the importance of business model definition to the need for a thoughtful approach to cultural change management and employee compensation. Tomas explains why a good “solutions map” is so important, and throughout the article, he connects project leadership concepts with the SAP tools and technologies that can make implementations more successful. Tomas ends the paper with a series of comments on the latest SAP technologies users should be staying on top of, and his opinionated appendix on the different types of SAP consultants is provocative and useful reading. Tomas has told us that he will follow up this paper with some discussions of specific project management issues, and he welcomes reader input on future topics to address.
There are common myths and prejudices in the market about implementing SAP. Such systems are believed to be too complex, too difficult to implement and maintain, with long and costly projects affordable only for big corporations1. As an ERP consultant, I could have chosen other systems, but I am convinced that SAP provides the most complete solutions and that it is possible to implement them easily, in a simple way, and within any budget range (with obvious differences in scope and methodology). I am in no way economically tied to SAP: I am just honestly convinced from a technical point of view and eager to share my experience and my knowledge.
In terms of my own SAP background, I am certified in MM, ASAP, ABAP, and Workflow and have broad experience in the integration of many different modules and solutions within the SAP environment. I have participated on SAP projects as a programmer, consultant, leader, quality assurance specialist, and solution developer. On different projects, I have been the person responsible for managing new implementations, migrations, improvements, roll-outs, model definitions, training, and archiving.
What follows is my view on why fears about difficulties implementing SAP2 are common in the market, how SAP is changing this, and what you should take into account for a cost-effective and successful SAP implementation. In this article, I will also cover the success factors and common mistakes that companies make while installing and running on SAP. This analysis is not only directed to the initial implementation, but covers all stages of a business solution lifecycle:
1 There are a couple of interesting official SAP articles stating the six myths about SAP. I am not going to quote them here because they are mainly directed to small and midsize business. This article is addressed to all the stages of SAP Project Management (from a solution map, implementation itself, and rollouts, to maintenance and the implementation of new functionality) for companies of all sizes.
2 SAP is offering a new integrated product for smaller companies: SAP Business One. This article does not including any reference to this product nor how to implement it, although most of the principles in this article should also apply to it.