Biggest Mistakes Companies Make During SAP S/4HANA Migrations and How to Avoid

1. Biggest Mistakes Companies Make During SAP S/4HANA Migrations—and How to Avoid Them SAP S/4HANA migration — A significant progress towards your digital transformation and competition. This is a move towards moving to what I will call next generation core — capabilities centred around real-time data processing, greater automation and human interfaces. But the reality is that these are complex projects — especially migrating to or from SAP S/4HANA. Without proper planning a business may face cost overruns, unanticipated delays and even disruption post- migration. Here, we explore the top SAP S/4HANA migration mistakes that organizations commit and also suggest ways as to how they can most effectually be averted, alike. 1.Launching without a concrete game plan: The Mistake — This is when a company begins its migration without having clear strategies for the same in place or how SAP S/4HANA links up to their primary business goals. They may be running through the migration just to get in sync with SAP´s planned updates or not realize how it affects their individual business processes properly and are only following the hype of "stay modern" for modernizations sake. How To Avoid It: First off you need a good solid migration strategy that is aligned tightly NOT ONLY with your current save harbor (protecting) vision but type II visions too, meaning innovation/ new market offerings! Consider the SAP S/4HANA migration as much more than a software update, think about this transition properly => Full-Blown Business Transformation Project Involve stakeholders from numerous departments to flesh out what the migration looks like in terms of increased efficiency and profit, higher levels of customer satisfaction With clear goals in place and an understanding of where S/4HANA fits as part of your larger digital transformation strategy, you can ensure that investments are made to give top priority and mission creep at bay.

2. 2.Not Taking Data Migration Complexity into Account: The Mistake: One of the more difficult parts to tackle in terms, but very often overlooked is data migration. Also, they tend to underestimate the complexity involved in migrating data correctly from their older system into your new shiny SAP S/4HANA ERP which leads to errors and even loss of essential information. How Can You Avoid This: Start with an all-encompassing data assessment to identify which of your datasets are clean, usable and valuable. Create a data cleansing, transformation also validation plan. SAP Data Services or SAP Information Steward are few such tools that ensure quality of data while it is being migrated. Or, work with data migration experts to predetermine your approach for protection of both data integrity and compliance…further mitigating adverse impacts on risk exposure that can invalidate the accuracy of insights afterwards. 3. Perform extensive testing : Mistake: Some companies try to save money or shorten schedules by reducing test units, which is a costly mistake. Rushing or skipping tests can lead to errors, system crashes, or unexpected performance when the system recovers. How to avoid it: Testing is essential for a successful migration. Create a detailed test plan that includes unit tests, integration tests, user acceptance tests, and stress tests. Don't rush these steps. Each step validates different aspects of the migration and provides valuable feedback. It involves end users early in the process so that the system meets user needs and expectations. Doing a thorough test may be more expensive at first, but it can prevent major problems later on. 4. Insufficient resources and skills: Mistake: Companies often try to complete downsizing with limited resources, to reduce costs, or to reduce necessary costs. Without an experienced team, projects will end up running over budget or not meeting expectations. –

3. How to avoid it: Make sure you have a team with the knowledge and experience you need for SAP S/4HANA, including consultants, project managers, and technical staff who understand the business and the technology. If your team doesn't have the skills, consider outside consultants with tailored training. Strengthening or bringing in experts can streamline operations, reduce risk and improve transitions. 5. Neglecting Change Management: The Mistake: Change management is required for a successful steering mechanism. This is especially true of the first stages of SAP S/4HANA migration, as some staff members might fear the new side will make them redundant, and therefore management should provide proper communication regarding any changes and their benefits alongside the process. How to Avoid It: Create a plan and guide the necessary process of adjusting organizational or group change so that it becomes a positive experience for the employees. The proposal may, for example, involve ensuring employees that they will be deployed to other suitable departments of the company and provide the necessary information on benefits to be enjoyed due to replaced line to guide employees toward favourability. Training is the most important aspect to be focused on and workers should be backed up with coaching to power them during new interaction and to demotivate anger. Letters and speech forms should be mainly used in fact, non-scattered communication together with relevant training to facilitate uptake possibilities of the new system, which, thus, leads to increased productivity. 6. Over-Customizing System Mistake: Many institutions are excessively personalizing SAP S/4HANA to reflect the specific characteristics of their former systems, which may be very expensive,

4. require an excessive amount of technical knowledge to maintain, and may even cause problems in future system updates. How to Avoid It: Implement the technology-oriented idea that less is more approach towards implementation in order to minimize the impacts of customization. SAP S/4HANA alone packs many ready-to-run features that fit the standard business situation in general. Besides, if customization is needed to improve the business value, modification should be considered only when pivotal or important. Flexibility and updateability of the solution we will have further in case of necessary customization eliminate redundant system maintenance. 7. Ignoring Best Practices and Preconfigured Solutions: The Mistake: SAP provides certain industry-beneficial best practices and preconfigured solutions that come from SAP’s side, which are targeted at helping companies start running the show faster. However, some organizations skip them and move straight to borrowing them and reconstruct everything from scratch. How to Avoid It: Leveraging SAP Best Practices or the SAP Model Company framework can be the way to drive fast migration by rising up workflows, templates, and processes automatically. These are standardized resources that the technology industry is used to thus minimizing mistakes and facilitating the seamless migration of the system. Through these preconfigured solutions you will get a path of working processes that are needed by your business which makes the implementation process simpler and will therefore cause the user experience to be better.

5. 8. Poor Project-Management and Timeline Estimation The Mistake: To make the mistake of overestimating the time and difficulty of SAP S/4HANA migration will cause the unexpected delay and budget problems as a result. With no project management companies undergoing the transition to traction sticks. How to Avoid It: Good project management is the main point. Select a coordinator who will guide each phase of the project, set priorities, and ensure that most staff are aligned with the project objectives. Divide the project into the different sections that are easily handled, develop the time frames that are practical, and watch over the indications closely. Passing through an iterative process using an agile methodology that implements iterations and giving continued feedback is a way to ensure that the project will meet the initial requirements or unexpectedly face new challenges. 9. Ignoring System Integration: The Error: SAP S/4HANA frequently calls for a connection to different structures, inclusive of CRM, e-trade systems or third-party specialised software. If the integration needs are ignored, this can lead to data that gets fragmented and workflows which become inefficient. How to Prevent It: Begin with an integration evaluation so you know which systems have to connect with SAP S/4HANA. Check compatibility and with SAP middleware tools such as the integration services of SAP Cloud Platform. Ensuring that everybody is on the same page and clearly defining how you will integrate can prevent data silos, bringing all your data together in one place (or multiple accessible places) so everyone can use it.

6. 10. No Post-Migration Support: The Mistake: A lot of businesses Think Their job was done Once the Migration Goes Live. Yet without ongoing, post-migration care and feeding these silos may no longer have an outlet to support issues that occur in day-to-day operations. How to Prevent It: Prioritize post-migration support. Put up a dedicated help desk and support team to deal with problems, check for performances and resolve any issues your users face. Offering the necessary daily training and practice so that employees know how to use are able to work with the new system, keeps everything running smoothly on a day-to-day basis — meaning higher productivity. 11. Overlooking Compliance and Security: The Mistake: Data security and regulatory compliance are often overlooked in migration planning. Not addressing these concerns leaves companies vulnerable to regulatory violations and data breaches. How to Avoid It: Compliance and security should be at the forefront of your migration plan. Conduct risk assessments to identify your security and compliance requirements, such as GDPR or industry-specific regulations. Using SAP’s built-in security tools, like Identity Access Management (IAM) and data encryption, can help secure sensitive data. Regular audits and data governance processes help maintain security standards during and after the migration. 12. Poor Rollout Planning: The Problem: A messy rollout can cause chaos and stress for employees. Some companies try to switch everyone to the new system at once without proper preparation. How to Fix It: Use a step-by-step rollout plan. Begin with a small group of users or departments. This helps you find and fix any problems before rolling out to the whole company. A step-by-step approach reduces disruptions, listens to user

7. feedback, and makes the change smoother, making it easier for everyone to adjust to the new system. Conclusion An SAP S/4HANA migration can greatly improve your business, but only if done thoughtfully. By knowing the common mistakes mentioned above, you can create a plan that leads to a smoother implementation, better timing, and lower costs. With clear goals, skilled people, and good change management.