An approval routed through email, an unreliable integration, or a report assembled by hand gives a clearer starting point than a broad digital transformation program. Before choosing SAP BTP services, define the process, who uses it, and how to measure time, effort, or errors before and after delivery.
Companies running SAP can assess a staged approach built on the existing environment. This article explains SAP BTP’s role, how to organize investment and which criteria to use when choosing an initial use case.
Risks of combining changes in a single rollout
Replacing the ERP, moving to the cloud and redesigning processes at the same time brings several dependencies into one project. Planning needs to account for how delays or failures in one area affect the others and which activities can be delivered separately.
That doesn't make ERP modernization unnecessary. For companies still on SAP ECC 6.0 with EHP 6 through 8, whose mainstream maintenance ends on December 31, 2027, planning the move to SAP S/4HANA is a real item on the agenda. But modernizing the core and innovating in operations are separate decisions, and one doesn't have to wait for the other.
What to reuse from the existing SAP environment
The existing SAP environment contains configuration, transaction history and business rules used in operations. Assessing what still serves the company helps determine which components to reuse and which need review.
SAP BTP lets you build on that foundation. The platform connects to your existing SAP, whether an older or a current release, and adds capabilities without touching the stable core (for the full picture, see what SAP BTP is). A few examples of what you can switch on:
- Advanced analytics on ERP data and other sources, without migrating the system
- Automation of manual processes such as approvals, forms and repetitive tasks
- Mobile apps for sales reps and field technicians, connected to SAP in real time
- Integration of new sales channels, customers or suppliers
- Artificial intelligence for specific tasks, such as document classification, anomaly detection and demand forecasting
Each initiative needs a scope, team and schedule based on the systems involved. Keeping new logic outside the core supports a clean core. For SAP ECC users, it also helps limit the custom code in the ERP that will need assessment during migration.
Staged investment and assessment
In an incremental approach, investment can be approved in stages, with scope and assessment criteria defined for each one. The results of a release help inform adjustments and budgets for subsequent work.
Reviews between releases allow the project to be adjusted based on how the solution is used. Integrations, access roles and standards created in the first initiative can be reused in later work where requirements are compatible.
What each leader gets
- CFO: assess investment and results at each stage
- Sales leadership: involve the team in assessing delivered improvements
- CEO: review the plan and priorities after each release
- IT: defined scopes and shared development and maintenance standards
Two companies that started with a concrete problem
From paper forms to a connected app
In a case reported by Grupo Intelsis, a distributor replaced the paper delivery forms its drivers filled out with a mobile app connected to SAP in real time. The solution went live in 8 weeks.
That first project also left the platform ready for what came next. Over the following 18 months, the company launched four more initiatives on the same foundation: a customer portal, returns automation, route analytics and fleet management. That is the effect the incremental approach aims for: every delivery makes the next one easier.
Without touching an ERP more than a decade old
In another case reported by Grupo Intelsis, a manufacturer that had been running SAP ECC for more than 10 years was wary of changing a system that worked. It chose to start with its most painful process: expense approvals handled entirely by email.
Within 6 weeks, the company had a digital workflow integrated with SAP, with mobile notifications and full traceability, and no changes to the ERP. The reluctance stopped being an obstacle precisely because the core never had to be touched.
How to choose your first use case
The first use case needs a defined problem, available data and people responsible for the process. It should also establish technical standards that can be reused in future initiatives.
Processes that still run on paper, email or spreadsheets tend to be good candidates: approvals, forms filled out in the field, manual reconciliations and inquiries that customers and partners still make by phone. They combine visible pain, fairly clear rules and results that are easy to measure.
It also helps to know what to avoid: starting with the most politically complex process in the company, or with a showcase project that has no clear metric. Once the first use case is live, measure it, share the results with the teams involved and use what you learned to choose the next one.
Defining the first release
The Grupo Intelsis team can assess one of your operating processes, the available indicators and the requirements for an initial SAP BTP release. To organize that assessment, talk to our specialists.
