Integrations have roadblocks to overcome ranging from technical integration practices to processes, people, and culture. However, the most significant challenge of merging two organizations is the harmonization of disparate technology landscapes:

1. Change management – SAP S4 process is likely very different than other ERP systems like Netsuite or even legacy SAP ECC.

2. Business challenges – Employee attrition, volume of new process, corporate culture all impact ERP integrations.

3. Lack of strategic direction / decisions – business leadership likely does not have enough information to make a decision.

The first of these reasons is due to today’s symbiotic relationship between business and technology. These digital assets are the pillar for creating, maintaining, and monetizing customer relationships. Automating processes and operations can result in saving costs and reducing overhead, while allowing employees to thrive in their roles. An effective SAP ERP migration and consolidation can create significant value for the organization. Change Management is often underestimated, but it plays a huge role in ensuring that these projects are successful. 

Key Points for a Successful Post Merger Integration:

A successful SAP integration plan relies on the stakeholders being able to make key decisions. Providing a single source of truth that all stakeholders can understand will enable better decision-making that enhances the overall quality of integration. Aptimized recommends that you ask for the following:

• Did you do proper pre-merger due diligence and map processes into standard SAP best practice? 

• Did you document the entire PMI process?

• Did you reduce IT risk by providing transparency into the end-to-end SAP API landscape?

• Did you allocate a budget for priority capabilities that create real value? (Cloud solutions like SAP Cash AI, Cloud for Customer Payment, Ariba, Commissions Cloud, Automated integrations, etc)

• Did you model your future target-state capability architecture?

An effective merger and acquisition require IT involvement across all stages. Before a merger and acquisition project even takes place, the ERP Team plays a key role in evaluating the impact of the transition on the IT operating model, which allows the assessment and improvement of the readiness for the integration. Another key role for IT during the diligence phase is to validate the target tech landscape, including the systems and best practices.

IT builds an ERP roadmap and skill sets to deliver smooth integrations and anticipates pain points. IT reinforces support by mapping relevant data to Assets and Risk. Other areas where IT plays a critical role in the successful integrations of a post-merger project:

• Striking the right balance between transformation and Business continuity is critical

• Ability to maintain normal processes and grappling with divergent tech standards are the most challenging tasks during merger and acquisitions.

• The Solution Architect’s primary purpose is to map best practice to existing business process.

Aptimized helps by leading internal resources and vendors alike to ensure that business process needs and SAP best practices. Contact us today to align your SAP ERP strategy to the most efficient models worldwide.