Our Journey from Early Adoption to widespread endorsement of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition
Endorsement of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition
The Public Edition of SAP S/4HANA Cloud has emerged as a transformative force from its initial release in 2015 towards a full-fledged ERP solution to support midsize and large enterprises. As an early bird adopter in 2017, our journey with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition has been challenging and rewarding. Fast forward to 2024, the adoption of the Public Edition has expanded significantly.
We see an ongoing increase in companies running on this public ERP solution: start-ups, grow-ups, mature enterprises, and international subsidiaries. The number of Dutch Interest Group of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition (VNSG) members is increasing. In addition, other SAP S/4HANA co-partners also started to include Public Edition in their solution portfolio. On top, SAP declared the Public Cloud is its future strategic domain for ERP and upcoming and new innovations. All Industry Solutions, New Technologies (AI, ML, RPA), Joule, and Sustainability solutions are available solely as Public Cloud solutions.
Why did Scheer Netherland select SAP Cloud ERP?
I started in 2012 with a clear mission and vision: Building a solid consulting team with deep business process knowledge/expertise to implement SAP SaaS ERP to support companies with a shoulder-to-shoulder implementation approach. The Scheer Process DNA fits perfectly with the Best Practice Processes philosophy of S/4HANA Public Cloud. It requires a process driven ERP implementation that is more business oriented and less driven by IT.
So, key for success is understanding the SAP Best Practices processes (so called scope items) and translating these together with the customer business team to the specific business needs. This teamwork enables our customers to become:
- Self-sufficient with S/4HANA Public Cloud for future innovations.
- Establish a Cloud Mindset to keep the Total Cost of Ownership low.
Scheer’s journey started with SAP Business ByDesign, and in 2017, the focus moved to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition.
What makes the Public Edition a successful solution?
The whole concept of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition is created to evolve at your own pace!
No big bang, but a controlled phased implementation. This step-by-step approach increases your teams' awareness and capabilities: understanding the integrated processes and quickly accessing the necessary data empowers your team and drives customer satisfaction.
The concept of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition is end-to-end process-driven: No implementation of modules like CRM, Sales, Finance, and Warehouse Management. Now, the implementation focuses on your Lead-to-Cash, Source-to-Pay, and Design-to-Operate processes. Such an integrated flow, running with real-time data and embedded analytics, connects all departments with a single version of the truth.
This approach requires a team of process-driven consultants to translate specific Industry needs into best practices. And that is precisely what we have done within Scheer Netherlands from day one until today: defining and explaining end-to-end business flows to support business challenges. Following best practices is not a rigid set of rules but a guide to effortlessly doing things right. For this, we use the 800+ scope items, which are the elements to build your particular best practices that fit your needs.
The fact that SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition runs in conjunction with the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) makes it robust and thriving. SAP BTP provides enormous capabilities to make the solution unique to your needs. Think about capabilities like personalization, customizations, embedded analytics, integrations, and the deployment of new technologies like AI, ML, IoT, and next-level process automation.
SAP BTP Extends the lifetime of existing solutions
Another critical success factor of SAP BTP is the capability to extend the lifetime of existing running applications or services. In all projects where SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition replaced an existing legacy ERP environment, we were able to deploy the integration suite of SAP Business Technology Platform to continue to use existing web services or solutions, like MES, EDI, Web shops, and the alignment with existing SAP ECC practices.
You don't have to be big to act smart.
With SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and SAP Business Technology Platform, midsize companies have access to an enormous wealth of functionality and technology power equal to the capabilities of multinationals. All are accessible without the investment in complex IT infrastructure and IT skills.
This is precisely why we started in 2012 with a focus on SaaS ERP, and even today, we still have a complete, dedicated focus on pure cloud solutions to make it easy and let it work. Creating a Cloud Mindset provides enormous advantages in terms of capabilities and becoming more successful.
The Public Cloud solution starts with 15 Full Equivalent Users (Self-service-, Core-, Advanced- or Developer Use Type), which makes the solution available for S/M/L/LX-sized companies.
Start-ups and Grow-ups can use it to expand rapidly with available best practices. The complex XL-organized companies can move functionality from on-premise or private ERP stacks to an easy-to-maintain and scalable Public Cloud environment. The supported two-tier approach of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition makes it a perfect candidate for a hybrid model to grow at your own pace to a more and more Public Cloud ERP stack.
Inspiration that counts
Each implementation with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition creates new insight and inspiration for both our clients and our business consultants. No project is the same. Challenges are always part of the game.
The fact that every six months, a new release with updated or new functionality is available makes it challenging for our consultants to discover the best options to support the business.
As we look ahead, the continuous evolution of SAP S/4HANA Cloud promises to unlock even more excellent opportunities for businesses willing to embrace change and drive forward with innovation.
Scheer is proud to be able to share our experiences to provide companies with the necessary insights to start their journey to SAP Cloud ERP. That is why we are organizing webinar specials. Scheer is on stage with a recent customer during the next SAP Inspiration Day on May 30th.
Ferry Bogaards,
Director Delivery
