SAP S/4HANA BUYER‘S GUIDE

Best Practices
for Achieving Meaningful
Business Transformation

An itelligence Buyer’s Guide

Contents

3 . . . . . Executive Summary

5 . . . . . Gather Your Requirements

6 . . . . . Find the Right Implementation Partner

7 . . . . . Define a Successful Path to SAP S/4HANA

8 . . . . . The itelligence Difference

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Executive Summary

SAP S/4HANA is a groundbreaking solution that opens the door to fundamentally different ways of doing business. Capitalizing on its full
potential requires new skills, fresh thinking, and an innovative mindset — starting with the implementation process and the partner you choose to
assist you.

However, S/4HANA isn’t just new to your business. It’s also relatively new to the SAP partner ecosystem that helps companies evaluate and
implement SAP solutions. The partner you choose will play an instrumental role in your transition to S/4HANA. This guide discusses the key
factors you and your implementation partner should keep in mind to ensure you make the most of your investment in S/4HANA, and suggests best
practices to follow as you progress through the following phases of your implementation:

• Gather Your Requirements

• Find the Right Implementation Partner

• Define a Successful Path to SAP S/4HANA

• The itelligence Difference

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Gather Your Requirements

Ask the Right Questions Pinpointing Your Requirements

At first glance, just the thought of an S/4HANA

implementation project may seem overwhelmingly
How would you describe your culture: entrepreneurial, conservative,
complex.
innovative, risk-taking, flexible?

Embarking on a project of business transformation What is your long-term vision?

is never simple, but it is manageable — and it all
starts with a sound vision. A surprising number of What will define the success of your S/4HANA initiative?
technology projects begin without a clear idea of a
What is your approach to change?
successful outcome. But taking the time to define
success, identify stakeholders, scope out requirements, What are your short-term project goals and objectives?
and agree on a guiding strategy can help clarify and
simplify the decisions your team will face. Do you have any target metrics or KPIs?

Have all of your requirements been adequately documented?

When it comes time to choose a partner for your
S/4HANA project, knowing the answers to the
questions listed here can help you identify the
organization with the best fit of skills and expertise for
your needs.
Who are your key stakeholders?
What are your current pain points that S/4HANA will address?
Does your organization have the required skills to implement
S/4HANA, and if not, where do you have gaps?

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Gather Your Requirements

Identify the Stakeholders

Building your internal team is one of the critical elements of a successful implementation plan — and you need more than just the technical
personnel who can get your solution up and running.

Your team should also include the roles involved in the solution’s ongoing use and maintenance. It should have a mix of business and
technical expertise. And it needs to take into account how you plan to reorganize your business and change future processes.

As you assemble your team, be sure to keep in mind the following:

Involve the Right People From the Right Places And Beyond...

Involve all necessary stakeholders
from the outset, and get the input of
everyone with approval authority in the
definition of your project requirements.
Think beyond IT and line-of-business
experts in creating a team. Take a cross-
functional approach that also includes
finance, HR, operations, customer service,
inside and field sales, and other roles.
Don’t overlook customer needs
and insights in your requirements
gathering.

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Gather Your Requirements

Define the Project Scope

Developing a clear picture of your implementation project’s scope includes two key elements: the functionality you need today and
the business transformation you’d like to achieve tomorrow using S/4HANA’s advanced capabilities.

Some organizations invest weeks in documenting the current needs and future capabilities that their implementation should
address. That investment pays off. It shortens the implementation timeline, helps you avoid surprising your management team, and
results in a better fit of the resulting solution with your current and future needs.

Plan to Test Early . . . and Often . . . Based on Real-World Use Cases

One of the proven ways to keep your project focused and on track is to establish a set of core use cases that your team can use
to evaluate your progress. You don’t need to define a use case for every business scenario you will face. Later, you can identify
additional needs to be considered. You don’t want to get bogged down early in the process with too many use case testing
requirements.

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Find the Right Implementation Partner

Which SAP implementation partner

is right for your organization?
SAP Validation Industry Expertise
Getting answers to the questions in
Recognition of the company’s A demonstrated history of expertise
the following key areas can help you
commitment and expertise in S/4HANA in addressing the business challenges
zero in on the company that offers
from SAP itself unique to a particular industry
the best fit in terms of experience,
expertise and culture.

Organizational Readiness Client Validation

(related to SAP S/4HANA) Actual clients willing to speak on the

A clear commitment to acquiring the partner’s ability to guide an organization
skills and revamping implementation and through a smooth transition to S/4HANA,
support methodologies to promote client and evidence of the measurable benefits
success with S/4HANA achieved

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Find the Right Implementation Partner
SAP Validation
To find a partner that excels with SAP S/4HANA
and is dedicated to helping businesses Run
Simple with SAP, find out:
What SAP credentials for S/4HANA has the
company earned?
What certifications has the company earned
with other key SAP technologies?
Has the company received any relevant
recognitions or awards from SAP?
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SAP’s recognition of the company as a proven, competent partner is an
absolute prerequisite in the evaluation process. SAP invests significant
resources in training and certifying partner organizations, and the
company’s recognition of a partner’s skills is a necessary hurdle in
identifying a qualified company.
SAP uses partnership tiers — Silver, Gold, and Platinum to distinguish
levels of competencies amongst their vast ecosystem of 13,000+ partners.
SAP’s Platinum tier is an “invitation-only” club of top global partners and
consultants. Currently there are only about 50 partners around the world
who are Platinum members.
In addition to partnership tiers, SAP annually recognizes outstanding
partner contributions to customer success and innovation by awarding the
SAP Pinnacle Award to top SAP partners. In 2016, only 16 companies in
SAP’s partner ecosystem received awards out of 19 categories.
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Find the Right Implementation Partner

Industry/Domain Expertise

To find a partner that excels with SAP Because companies implement SAP S/4HANA to address their unique customer,
S/4HANA and is dedicated to helping market, and operational challenges, the vertical expertise of a potential
businesses Run Simple with SAP, find out: implementation partner can be a deciding factor. Be sure to account for the
following:
Has the company clearly demonstrated
thought leadership (for example, blogs,
articles in trade journals, presentations Industry Suite
at industry events, etc.) in a specific Thought on HANA
industry? Leadership Expertise

Has the company earned the relevant

SAP certifications in the given industry?

Does the company emphasize its

S4/HANA SAP Industry
vertical expertise via its own
Expertise Certification
communications, web presence, and
social media?

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Find the Right Implementation Partner

Organizational Readiness and Adoption of SAP

Beyond the credibility and market reputation of a partner company, An implementation/integration/support

the experience, expertise, and skills of the individuals in that company partner should clearly demonstrate its
have as much to do with the ultimate success of a project as any other commitment to maintaining the highest
consideration. standards of staff training and expertise.
Questions to ask include:

What SAP credentials for S/4HANA has

the company earned?

What certifications has the company

earned with other key SAP
technologies?

Has the company received any relevant

recognitions or awards from SAP?

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Find the Right Implementation Partner
Client Validation
The most compelling evidence of a partner’s
qualifications are the recommendations of the clients
it serves. Parsing the differences in technology, vertical,
and process expertise can be a challenge, and the way a
partner company differentiates itself from its competitors
may not always be clear. However, the client perspective
offers the best evidence of a partner company’s strengths
and its ability to deliver what it promises.
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An implementation/integration/support partner should clearly
demonstrate its commitment to maintaining the highest
standards of staff training and expertise. Questions to ask
include:
Can the company provide S/4HANA references for full scale
system conversions? Net new migrations? Industry-specific
implementations?
Is the company willing to share its perspective on lessons
learned? Is it forthcoming on what has worked and what hasn’t
with previous S/4 HANA implementations?
Does the company have a proven track record of staying on
time and on budget with its SAP projects?
Can the company speak credibly on emerging trends and
paradigms such as digital transformation, the Internet of Things,
and other innovations that may factor into a company’s future
growth plans — and what do its clients say about the way the
company has helped them embrace new solutions?
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Define a Successful Path to SAP S/4HANA
While it’s true that an S/4HANA implementation can be a major technological undertaking, it’s also a prime opportunity to modernize outdated business
practices and embark on a business transformation initiative that positions you for success in today’s digital era.

You should start with a comprehensive planning approach that prepares you for all implementation scenarios and helps you build a roadmap that best
suits your situation and organization. With a plan defined, you can deploy SAP S/4HANA which will set you on your path to realize organization-wide
benefits by reducing complexity. Once S/4HANA has been implemented, you can implement new innovations by integrating cloud solutions, and continue
innovating with line of business solutions.

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 The following elements are critical to a successful collaboration with your
implementation partner in achieving the business transformation you need.

Project Preparation and Value Discovery Conference Room Pilot

Every SAP implementation partner brings SAP expertise to In this vital step, your partner should work with you on an analysis
the table. What sets a partner apart is the way they can use of the new SAP best practices and your modifications and proprietary
that knowledge during your implementation to help you processes to identify any gaps that exist and identify whether
identify opportunities to create value and greater efficiency additional configuration or custom development is required.
and address the industry-specific challenges you face. Be sure
your partner offers a value discovery workshop and builds a
project/implementation roadmap that includes the specific
improvement metrics, process reengineering, and organizational
goals you want to achieve. Personalization

Configuring software to industry and micro-vertical business

processes is critical for your organization. Personalization allows
Best Business Practices Workshop your organization to address unique industry requirements.

S/4HANA includes SAP’s predefined best practices, and your

project plan should include extensive discussion on which
SAP best practices will work for you. Organizational Readiness

Even with a cloud deployment, your organization will likely need to

update their skills to ensure a smooth transition to S/4HANA. Your
project plan should include a frank discussion with your implementation
partner regarding the training your internal resources will require to
ensure that you realize the full value of your S/4HANA investment.

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 Take control and define your roadmap to
SAP S/4HANA

SAP
S/4HANA
Cloud Edition

SAP Industry-specific Solutions

S/4HANA (Medical Research Insights, Health Link) Innovate with Industry and LoB Solutions

nn Simple interaction nn Native integration

with business networks
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Platform nn Homogenous data models
nn Guided configurations
nn Flexible deployment

Industry & Micro Industry

Integrate Cloud Solutions
SAP Cloud
for Customer
IoT nn Rapid innovation cycles nn High user acceptance
nn Flexibllity and scalability nn Built-in integration with
on-premise solutions
SAP
S/4HANA
Reduce Complexity with SAP S/4HANA

nn Faster financial period closing and reconciliation nn Improved inventory managemenet

nn Better forecasting nn Lower cost of finance

SAP Business
Suite powered Build Foundation
by SAP HANA

nn Increased agility with real-time insight nn Simplified landscape and data footprint

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 2017
S/4HANA
The itelligence Difference Partner
of the Year

Our Pedigree
At itelligence, we’re often asked what
makes our approach to an SAP project
different. Following are the characteristics
that have made us the partner of choice
for thousands of SAP customers.
Few companies can boast the same corporate pedigree as itelligence. We offer the ideal
balance of SAP expertise, global reach, and local presence, with more than 5,800 employees
worldwide doing business in 40 countries serving more than 6,000 customers. That total
includes more than 250 SAP HANA and S/4HANA customers.
We’ve been helping businesses capitalize on the value of SAP since 1989. Along the way, we’ve
earned virtually every partner certification available from SAP, including:

nn SAP Platinum Partner nn SAP Global Partner SAP HANA

nn SAP Global Value Added Reseller nn SAP Global Partner Application Management Services
nn SAP Global Partner Service nn SAP Global Partner Cloud Service
nn SAP Global Partner Hosting

HANA & S/4HANA PROJECTS

Transactions Deployments Go Lives

250+ 170+ 75+

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 The itelligence Difference

Our Product

As with any consulting organization, our product is our expertise. However, we also develop the proprietary applications and intellectual property that
can add value to your SAP investment.

When it comes to addressing the unique functional needs that different businesses have, one size doesn’t fit all. We’ve created a set of unique apps and
extensions that help our clients address the particular functional needs in the industry that may not be addressed with standard SAP functionality.

Certified S/4HANA Industry Solutions

MFG WSD CPG FOOD LS/MEDICAL DEVICE

SAP HANA BW on SAP Suite on SAP SAP HANA S/4HANA S/4HANA BPC / BW
Live Side-Car HANA (BWoH) HANA (SoH) Side-Car Finance Enterprise Management on HANA

AUTO CHEM CPG DURABLES

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 The itelligence Difference

Our Practices and Procedures

Every SAP implemenation partner offers a methodology. What makes ours different is our ability to accommodate your unique processes, our expertise
in specific vertical segments, and our proven experience in helping clients realize the value of new technologies like S/4HANA.

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 The itelligence Difference

Our People

We recognized early on that SAP S/4HANA would redefine how companies do business—and we immediately began taking steps to train our team and rework
our implementation methodologies to help our clients be ready for an S/4HANA world.

Not every SAP partner has made the same commitment. It requires a significant financial investment, resources, and effort. But we are focused on doing
everything required to help our clients make a smooth transition to SAP S/4HANA and get a running start on the future.

We’ll continue to adapt our training, our team, and our processes to help our clients capitalize on the transformative potential of SAP S/4HANA. We believe
that the effort isn’t just in our best interest—it’s also fundamental to the ongoing success of the clients we serve.

First S/4HANA

First SCMoH

First CRMoH

Intelligence ERP on HANA

SAP-Certified Provider of Hosting Services for SAP HEC

First ERPoH

First BWoH (Ramp up)

First Native HANA

2012 2013 2014 2015 Today

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 The itelligence Difference

Our Passion

There’s no objective way to measure the passion of an implemenation partner—but you can gauge it in the willingness of
a company’s clients to act as references and in the things those clients say about their experience. The following capture the
perspective of a few of itelligence’s recent SAP HANA clients.

Thanks to HANA and itelligence, We were impressed with the expertise

Johnsonville can enjoy nimble access identified with itelligence as our hosting
to company performance, customer partner. We knew little about SAP
metrics and consumer behavior, HANA. They were experts, and we felt
further enabling the organization to drive they were best equipped to satisfy us
competitive advantage, growth and from that perspective.”
profitability.”

itelligence had an excellent

understanding of HANA - Michael Johnson,
- Paul Townsend, Business Intelligence CFO, Network Services Company
Team Coach, Johnsonville Sausage technology. It had complete,
360-degree answers for both
technical and application-specific
issues.

- René Teichmann,
CIO, Rickmers Holding

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 Want answers on your own plans for SAP S/4HANA?
Contact itelligence today.

As one of the industry’s most experienced implementation partners for SAP S/4HANA, we at itelligence
answer a lot of questions from organizations who are searching for the experts that can help them make
the most of their own digital transformation project. We’d like to do the same for you.

No two clients or SAP projects are the same, so we’ll show you exactly how we’d support your
organization in achieving a smooth SAP S/4HANA implementation that opens the door to a whole
range of new possibilities for your business.

For more information on how itelligence can help you make a smooth transition to SAP S/4HANA,
contact us at 1-866-422-8858 or email s4hana@itelligencegroup.com.

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