Is SAP ERP viable for any company?

By Horácio Menin, CEO of Homine Tecnologia

When you think about SAP ERP, what comes to mind? In conversations with CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and IT managers of medium-sized companies, I come across phrases like: “SAP is as good as it is expensive”, “implementation takes time”, “my employees would find it too complex” or “ SAP is not for medium-sized companies like ours.”

These phrases invoke some myths that still resonate and confuse companies that are seeking growth and digital transformation for their businesses – especially medium-sized ones. That's why I decided to share my point of view, with the experience of more than 20 years working with clients in the SAP world.

Many don't know, but today 80% of SAP customers are growing companies (small and medium) that are focused on simplifying processes and operating with more data intelligence. I.e, SAP is not just for “the big ones”.

Much is also said about the complexity and delay in implementing ERP. SAP has been listening to the market and has changed a lot in recent years to simplify the consumption of its technology. Consultancies, such as homine, created accelerators for projects and adopted diverse strategies, such as wave deployment. Customers, in turn, began to understand that the option to use the ERP in its version Standard contributes positively to the operation and also introduces best practices into the company.

Today, companies of all sizes have a portfolio of SAP solutions at their disposal, allowing them to choose the one that best suits their business and current budget. The arrival of the cloud made it easier to build more standardized interfaces and injected more agility when implementing them. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, for example, takes just a few months to go live, thanks to its predefined content and best practices already embedded in the ERP.

But after all, can medium-sized companies have an SAP ERP? As I said before, SAP expanded its offering and the cloud catalyzed new possibilities for developing companies. To give you an idea, more than half of all new SAP S/4HANA Cloud customers are growing companies.

There are several reasons for this adherence. It is a flexible and agile ERP when implementing. It's simple, you use it as a service (SaaS) directly in the cloud. It is more productive, as it automates processes and uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to run business scenarios. And it reduces costs, especially property costs, as the company will not need to hire servers or carry out hardware maintenance, nor worry about data security. Everything is up to SAP, in its cloud structure.

Ah, but an ERP like that is expensive… This myth has been dispelled a long time ago and the greater flow of medium-sized companies into the SAP universe is proof of this. In any case, we did the calculations to show that S/4HANA Cloud Public fits within the budget of a medium-sized company. The accounts are all in an infographic prepared by Homine's marketing team. Anyone who wants to prove that SAP ERP pays off for medium-sized companies, just download the material HERE. One spoiler: ERP not only stays within budget but also has money left over to invest in complementary innovations!

Well, my objective was to bring this discussion and reinforce that SAP ERP is not a “distant” reality. On the contrary, it has never been as close to companies, especially growing ones, as it is now. Leave your comments so we can continue this conversation. Count on me If you want to deepen this discussion, let's go ahead!