Building the Foundations for a Successful SAP S/4HANA Transformation
Project Overview
Our energy client was at the beginning of their ERP journey to move from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA, a Greenfield implementation utilising a ”fit-to-standard” approach, which will maximise business benefits and support faster adoption of the new solution. The goal of transforming the way the business and its processes work will impact people globally across the organisation, primarily in the Supply Chain and Finance functions. To ensure a smooth SAP S/4HANA transformation, our client decided to run a pre-programme phase to begin engagement and communication activities with the executive leadership and affected functions.
Working collaboratively with the Digital Strategy Director and the Business Applications Senior Manager, Afiniti supported a number of pre-programme change management activities that effectively prepared leaders for the change, driving excitement for the programme and allowing the business the optimum starting position for the S/4HANA project rollout.
We supported sponsor alignment and buy-in from key business stakeholders in collaboration with subject matter experts who were able to contribute to the solution design, implementation and adoption across the organisation.
Our Solution
We worked closely and collaboratively with key business stakeholders to support the pre-programme change management activities. We:
- Delivered a strong and compelling visual identity and core template set to facilitate communications, enabling better engagement; these were all on brand, but stood out to carry messaging visually, expanding reach to desired audiences.
- Developed a key message framework with the team to ensure a solid foundation for speaking with one voice and informing future communications for the programme.
- Led stakeholder identification and analysis that informed the creation of a stakeholder register. This helped the team understand the level of power and influence certain groups hold and the magnitude of change the impacted groups would undergo.
- Conducted leadership interviews that uncovered the level of commitment and buy-in from leaders and identified organisational challenges and business priorities that may impact the programme.
- Created a series of bitesize videos to drive awareness and create desire for the change.
- Produced a dynamic, succinct and informative engagement deck that brought the transformation story to life. The deck articulated the SAP S/4HANA transformation journey, from a pre-programme perspective, in a compelling and exciting way.
The Differences We Made
- Key stakeholders and leaders understood the importance of the change and were prepared and equipped with the knowledge and skills to support both their teams and the project team.
- We maintained and promoted a people focus for delivering change.
- We engaged people across the business with the SAP S/4HANA transformation.
- Ensured that the perspectives of all stakeholders would be reflected in the communication, training and overall rollout strategy and identified missing critical elements of the intended plan.
Learn more about Afiniti’s deep energy consulting experience here.
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