Implementation and migration
Implementation work begins with process mapping rather than configuration, because the most common cause of a disappointing S/4HANA outcome is migrating undocumented processes and unexamined custom code into a new system.
For organisations moving from ECC, the brownfield versus greenfield decision is made against evidence: how much custom code exists to compensate for ECC limitations that S/4HANA resolves natively, how much of it is still used, and what the data condition actually is. That assessment usually changes the assumed answer.
- Process mapping and fit-gap analysis before design
- Custom code assessment against standard S/4HANA capability
- Data quality assessment and cleansing scope definition
- Configuration, testing and cutover planning
- Company code and plant rollouts to additional entities and sites
Application management support
Support is delivered against defined severity levels stated in business terms, with separate response and resolution targets, and a written boundary between support and change so that ambiguous requests do not become negotiations.
Reporting covers repeat incident rate and the proportion of effort going into enhancement rather than firefighting, because SLA compliance alone does not indicate whether the system is improving.
| Element | How it is defined |
|---|---|
| Severity levels | Business impact terms a user can apply |
| Response and resolution | Separate targets per severity |
| Support versus change | Written test, agreed before work begins |
| Enhancement funding | Retained pool or approval threshold |
| Reporting | Repeat incidents and enhancement share, not only SLA |
| Review | Monthly operational, quarterly commercial |
Development and user experience
Fiori and UI5 work is scoped against transaction profile rather than appearance. High-volume transactions performed by non-specialists, error-prone processes and anything needed away from a desk repay the effort; specialist configuration transactions generally do not.
Standard Fiori apps are checked before custom development is proposed, because custom apps carry a permanent upgrade regression cost that standard apps do not.
Resource deployment
Where a client needs SAP capability inside their own team rather than a delivered project, consultants are deployed by module and work within the client’s processes and governance. This suits sustained work in specific modules where the client holds the delivery direction.