Fit-to-standard workshops are the core of the Explore phase in SAP Activate. Traditional ERP projects began by documenting how the business works today, then customising software to match. Fit-to-standard flips that. You start from SAP’s standard processes and change only what truly needs changing. It’s the fastest way to scope S/4HANA.

What fit-to-standard workshops are

In the Explore phase of SAP Activate, consultants demonstrate SAP’s preconfigured processes in a working system. Business users compare them with how they work today and decide together whether the standard fits, needs a small extension, or whether the business should change its process.

How a workshop runs

Tips for success

• Send decision-makers, not only note-takers.
• Challenge ‘we’ve always done it this way’: ask what value a custom step adds.
• Keep a gap log with an owner and a decision date for each item.
• Prefer extensions outside the core to keep upgrades simple.

Every gap you avoid in a workshop is a cost you avoid for the life of the system.

Common mistakes to avoid

A worked example: order-to-cash

In an order-to-cash workshop, consultants show how SAP handles quotations, orders, delivery, billing and credit checks.

The sales team realises its manual credit approval email can be replaced by SAP’s standard credit management. Two genuine gaps are logged: a special pricing rule and a customer portal.

Most of the process is marked as fit, the pricing rule becomes a small extension, and the portal goes onto SAP BTP. Fit-to-standard workshops turned weeks of debate into a clear, short build list.

Checklist before your fit-to-standard workshops

Use these questions with your team before you begin. Clear answers here make every later decision faster.

• Process owners booked for every relevant workshop
• A short list of pain points for each process
• Agreement that standard comes first
• A gap log template with owner and decision date
• A rule for which gaps go to SAP BTP instead of the core

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

The SAP Activate methodology gives every S/4HANA project the same proven structure. SAP Activate is SAP’s standard method for implementing S/4HANA. Knowing its six phases helps you understand what your partner is doing, what’s expected of your team and where projects usually go wrong.

SAP Activate methodology at a glance

Each phase in detail

A good methodology doesn’t slow a project down. It stops it from going in circles.

What your team does in each phase

Common mistakes to avoid with SAP Activate

A worked example: a six-month project

A mid-size company plans a six-month S/4HANA Cloud project using the SAP Activate methodology. Discover and Prepare take a few weeks to agree scope, team and plan.

Explore runs fit-to-standard workshops by process, producing a short list of gaps. Realize builds and tests in sprints, with key users reviewing each one.

Deploy covers final testing, training and cut-over. In Run, the team owns the system with partner support, adopting new releases over time. The SAP Activate methodology keeps everyone clear on what comes next.

Checklist before you start an SAP Activate project

Use these questions with your team before you begin. Clear answers here make every later decision faster.

• A named business sponsor with authority to decide
• Process owners free to join Explore workshops
• Agreed scope, budget and timeline
• A data clean-up plan that starts in Prepare
• A support model for Run, agreed before go-live

Frequently asked questions

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