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How SAP S/4 Hana Optimizes Business Strategy

Digital transformation has to be holistic, meaning it needs to encompass the entire value chain, every business department, and internal and external factors. SAP S/4 Hana can help with that.
Rene Leppich, Arvato Systems
June 23, 2020
[shutterstock.com: 352580183, Venomous Vector]
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It is crucial that companies align their digital transformation efforts with their individual strategic business goals. To be successful in their endeavors, they’ll need a real-time ERP suite like the S/4 platform. SAP S/4 Hana combines the advantages of an intelligent next-generation ERP system with those of SAP systems. To benefit from S/4 and Hana, companies need to consider more than just technological factors, however.

Strategy and organization are just as important as technology. S/4 Hana implementations grant companies the opportunity to evaluate and optimize every single process, their entire business structure and all their base principles to ensure they are all aligned with business goals. It is essential to first define a mid-term and long-term corporate strategy, however, as it is important for S/4 Hana business goals.

Like every complex IT project, S/4 Hana implementations need meticulous preparation. Companies need to plan individual project phases by including and informing all involved parties like managers, CEOs, IT decisionmakers and stakeholders.

Rene Leppich

The S/4 Hana migration must be in line with the business strategy.

In our digital age, there is only one constant for numerous companies: permanent change. Managers should use such a fundamental change like migrating to a new ERP suite to make sure their mid-term and long-term business goals are what they would like them to be. It is not enough to only reevaluate overall corporate strategy, however; every goal in every individual department needs to be aligned with business strategy. Managers need to consider legal and economic aspects as well as running and planned IT projects.

If an overall strategy has been defined, the goals of the transformation can be derived from it. These goals act as guidelines for an effective, significant, and sustainable S/4 project. The defined goals also determine which transformation method is most suitable. Greenfield or brownfield? To decide between new implementation and migration, companies need to be aware of their current process landscapes, their critical processes, and their future IT needs.

A structured approach to a strategic transformation requires meticulous planning and execution of each individual project phase and the definition of milestones. Moreover, companies have to define roles and assign tasks. It is also recommendable to not only identify business-critical processes, but also validate them against industry standards.

In previous projects, it has furthermore proven useful to define concrete goals for every project phase, calculate expenses and efforts for subsequent steps, and provide suggestions on how different components can be implemented.

Meeting requirements of end users is only possible by asking them what they want. It is indispensable that companies identify all affected staff members when it comes to S/4 Hana transformation and implementation. Companies need to find out what future end users want, which processes individual departments require, and if these requirements align with mid-term and long-term business strategy.

While the opinions of decisionmakers are essential to S/4 Hana projects, companies cannot neglect the IT department and their needs and wishes, as it is the IT department that makes digital transformation in other business departments happen. Collaboration is a must, as every stakeholder has a different perspective, different requirements, and different expectations. Only then do companies have a stable foundation for their S/4 Hana transformation projects.

https://e3mag.com/partners/arvato-systems-gmbh/
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Rene Leppich, Arvato Systems

Rene Leppich is Manager SAP Enterprise Transformation at Arvato Systems.


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Working on the SAP basis is crucial for successful S/4 conversion. 

This gives the Competence Center strategic importance for existing SAP customers. Regardless of the S/4 Hana operating model, topics such as Automation, Monitoring, Security, Application Lifecycle Management and Data Management the basis for S/4 operations.

For the second time, E3 magazine is organizing a summit for the SAP community in Salzburg to provide comprehensive information on all aspects of S/4 Hana groundwork.

Venue

FourSide Hotel Salzburg,
Trademark Collection by Wyndham
Am Messezentrum 2, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
+43-66-24355460

Event date

Wednesday, June 10, and
Thursday, June 11, 2026

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EUR 390 excl. VAT
available until 1.10.2025
EUR 590 excl. VAT

Venue

Hotel Hilton Heidelberg
Kurfürstenanlage 1
D-69115 Heidelberg

Event date

Wednesday, April 22 and
Thursday, April 23, 2026

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EUR 590 excl. VAT
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reduced with promocode STAbo26
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Students*
reduced with promocode STStud26.
Please send proof of studies by e-mail to office@b4bmedia.net.
EUR 290 excl. VAT
*The first 10 tickets are free of charge for students. Try your luck! 🍀
The event is organized by the E3 magazine of the publishing house B4Bmedia.net AG. The presentations will be accompanied by an exhibition of selected SAP partners. The ticket price includes attendance at all presentations of the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2026, a visit to the exhibition area, participation in the evening event and catering during the official program. The lecture program and the list of exhibitors and sponsors (SAP partners) will be published on this website in due course.