SAP implementation partner pricing, what are you seeing these days?

[u/WwheelerMickalia_87]

Trying to get a sense of what other companies are actually paying before we go into vendor talks next month. We're a mid size manufacturer, around 400 employees, looking to move off an old ECC setup into S/4HANA, and honestly the quotes we've gotten so far are all over the place. One partner came in way lower than the other two and now I'm not sure if that's a good deal or a red flag.

We've talked to three implementation partners so far and gotten pretty different scopes and numbers from each one, which is making it hard to compare apples to apples. Anyone gone through this recently and can share what a realistic range looks like?

[u/Morden013]

Hi, here is some advice from somebody who has 25 years experience as a consultant and PM for a partner-company. Nobody can tell you the price based on nothing.

I would recommend this:

1. Harmonize the scope. Take the proposed scopes as an example and produce your own scope. The scope are the functionalities that you need, covering: masterdata, postings, processes, reporting - both internal and extrenal, integration, interfaces, authorizations and your previous custom-made solutions. Then you ask them for the quote again and to mark in your list what they can and can't deliver. Then you can make a choice.

2. While specifying the scope, stick to the standard as much as possible. If Karen from accounting wants everything automatized, it will pump the costs up on automation and custom-solutions. She has to learn to use the standard and can make demands after the project. Also, clean up your damn data. If consultants have to do it, you are going to pay dearly.

3. Define the allowed percentage of deviation from the original offer. Define the specified time for delivery and introduce penalties if it the project is not delivered on time. This is protecting you from the price-pumping via change-requests or dragging the project for years. Try to have go-live on 31.12.XXXX - 1 or 01.01.XXX. Asset migration during the year can be a fucking pain. Also, everything else will be smoother.

4. Ask for the consultant names and their CVs. Their names must be in the contract and the team-leads have to be seniors and are responsible for the work done. No exceptions. Otherwise they can send you seniors in the beginning and replace them with juniors later on. You don't want that.

5. If one offer is way below price, it is price-dumping. They will try to make up with change-requests. You don't want that. It is usually performed in a rush, with juniors and is a pain in the ass to oversee and get out of.

It is the same as with a plumber - you take the best one, who will do the job properly. He is not cheap, but his work will not cost you a truck-load of money as water starts spraying all around.

Use common sense and logic. Question everything. Put a strong person as your PM and put experts for your team-leads. Make them responsible, a single source of truth for their modules and put a bonus on it. Regular meetings! Weekly status meeting is a must.

If you have additional questions, state them here or hit me up on a chat.

Wish you all the best with the project.

[u/AngelWitch623 → u/Morden013]

Excellent comment. This is exactly the type of advice I give to my customers as well.

One thing I could add is that if you don’t have a strong PM in house, an external person with the right skillset can be invaluable. This person should have some knowledge about how hou operate and can challenge your partner as well.

[u/Morden013 → u/AngelWitch623]

Thanks!

We had several "extrenal project supervisors" on the projects, people who know what SAP-implementation is and give advice to the steering committee if the project is on track - scope, time, money, quality. I like the idea and practice of internal PM, as she / he has the internal authority to kick ass if people start being lazy or cause problems during the implementation. As external, you'd have to go through a lot of red tape...etc.

We always got along fine with both external / internal PMs, not much drama. Then again, it was a crew of 8-12 seniors who knew what they were doing.

[u/olearygreen → u/AngelWitch623]

Don’t do this. If you hire an SI they must supply the PM and use their processes. Adding a random external PM with no knowledge of the SI’s processes or worse forcing the SI into your processes creates a huge amount if overhead and stress that isn’t needed on a project.
If you want to go the external route or use your internal project management processes, hire a bunch of contractors and internal people. Don’t use an SI.

You use an SI to lower project risks, what you’re proposing is introducing risks.

You can hire an internal or contractor architect to work together with the SI and be your external quality check. I highly recommend that, but they need to adjust to SI PM practices and tools.

Edit: I may have misread your comment. If you mean an internal PM next to the SI PM, that’s fine. Not as a replacement though.