How to identify a bad SAP project

Not all SAP implementations are successful—many have faced significant challenges, delays, and even complete failures. Here are some notable unsuccessful SAP projects and the lessons learned: 1. Lidl – €500M SAP Failure (2018) •Issue: Lidl, a German retail giant, attempted to implement SAP for inventory and finance management. However, they insisted on keeping their existing inventory valuation method instead of adapting to SAP’s standard approach. •Result: After seven years and €500 million, Lidl scrapped the project. •Lesson: Customization must align with SAP best practices—forcing legacy processes into SAP often leads to failure. 2. Revlon – $64M Supply Chain Disaster (2019) •Issue: The beauty brand implemented SAP S/4HANA, but the rollout was rushed without adequate testing, resulting in supply chain disruptions. •Result: Factories couldn’t fulfill orders, stockouts occurred, and the company lost $64M in revenue. •Lesson: Proper testing and phased rollouts are critical for large-scale SAP implementations. 3. Hershey’s – $150M Halloween Disaster (1999) •Issue: Hershey’s implemented SAP but rushed the go-live before peak season without proper system stabilization. •Result: A failed order fulfillment process left millions of chocolates undelivered, causing a $150M revenue loss. •Lesson: Never go live during critical business seasons. Ensure the system is fully stable first. 4. U.S. Navy – $1B SAP Failure (2015) •Issue: The U.S. Navy spent $1B on an SAP ERP system for logistics, but they never properly defined the requirements. •Result: The system didn’t meet operational needs and was abandoned. •Lesson: Clearly define requirements and business processes before implementation. 5. LeasePlan – SAP HCM Implementation Challenges •Issue: LeasePlan, a fleet management company, implemented SAP HCM but struggled with customized payroll processing across different countries. •Result: The system had payroll calculation errors, leading to employee dissatisfaction and manual workarounds. •Lesson: Global payroll rollouts require detailed local compliance checks to ensure smooth functioning. Key Takeaways for SAP Consultants: 1.Minimize Customization – Stick to SAP best practices instead of forcing legacy processes. 2.Thorough Testing is Critical – Rushed go-lives without testing lead to disasters. 3.Stakeholder Alignment is Key – Business users must be fully involved, not just IT teams. 4.Phased Rollouts Work Better – Avoid big-bang implementations unless absolutely necessary. 5.Payroll & HCM Require Special Care – Compliance issues can cause payroll failures, legal problems, and employee dissatisfaction. #saphcm #sapfreshers #sapcareers #sapjobopportunity

Strategic failures begin in SAP projects with small compromises that accumulate until the main goals are lost. Here are the most common ways that happens, and what you can do to avoid it: 🤔👇 🧩 Underestimating complexity and treating SAP as a “system replacement” rather than a full business transformation leads to poor preparation. Teams oversimplify interdependencies, leading to rework and late-phase disruptions. 🧾 Uncontrolled additions overload teams and stretch timelines. Each change adds complexity, technical debt, and testing load. Change control should guard against strategic dilution. 🔧 Over-customizing increases cost and adds technical debt, increases maintenance workloads, and complicates upgrades. Use SAP standards wherever possible for agility and resilience. 🗃️ Neglect of data quality corrupts even the best SAP systems. Without cleansing, validation, and ownership, bad data becomes business risk. Treat data migration as a core business stream. 🔌 Neglecting integration dependencies, misaligned systems, mapping errors, or untested workflows can paralyze operations. Plan, test, and validate integrations early and often. 🧪 Rushing testing to save time leads to undetected defects and instability. Rigorous and integrated testing protects system integrity, user confidence, and go-live readiness. 🚨 Delayed risk escalation can cause project failures. Silence enables small problems to escalate into critical failures. Encourage early escalation and create a no-blame culture. 🏛️ Without executive sponsors, the project loses authority and focus. Escalations stall, scope expands, and decisions are delayed. Strong leadership keeps delivery tied to business value. 🤝 When stakeholders are passive, critical requirements are missed or misunderstood. Business buy-in is essential for accountability, better design decisions, and stronger adoption. 🔄 Insufficient change management leaves users unprepared and resistant to adoption. Change enablement must begin early and extend well beyond training. 🎓 Minimal last-minute training creates dependency on support. User confidence and adoption suffers, and productivity drops. Effective, role-based training is foundational to success. 🛟 Projects that “end at go-live” often struggle during hypercare. Stabilization, support structures, and feedback loops are critical. Plan hypercare like an additional phase. 🌍 Local variations fracture global templates and add complexity. Inconsistent processes reduce automation potential and impair reporting. Global design governance prevents local exceptions from becoming liabilities. When small compromises go unchallenged they reduce its impact, and eventually cause strategic failure. The key is recognizing, challenging, and managing these compromises. 💬 Have you witnessed minor compromises spiral into major SAP challenges? Share your insights in the comments below. ⬇️ #IgniteSAP #SAPDelivery #DigitalTransformation

How a seemingly great SAP S/4 transformation proposal went bad, a lesson from the the field..... A while back, we were brought in by a net new SAP client who had accepted a proposal from a systems integrator that looked great on the surface - but ended up being to good to be true. The offer looked great on paper - low cost, aggressive timeline, the works. But once the project kicked off, the cracks started to show: ↳ Gaps in project leadership ↳ Data and analytics neglected ↳ Change management ignored And worst of all, the systems integrator was waiting for the client to tell them what to do rather than leading the charge as promised. By the time Local World was called in to right the ship, the project was off track. We staffed a team to fill leadership gaps, address data issues, and drive change management. But the result? ↳ The project went live far later than initially proposed ↳ The total investment was far higher than initially proposed ↳ Internal adoption was an uphill climb Here’s the hard truth: Underbidding is a tactic some systems integrators use to secure deals. But when corners are cut, clients end up paying far more - whether in delays, rework, or missed opportunities. At Local World , we act as an insurance policy for clients, ensuring their projects stay on track, led by experienced consultants who actually lead. What you can do to avoid the same fate: ↳ Hire an SAP S/4 experienced project leader ↳ Run change management yourself ↳ Make sure you're working with clean data Have you experienced similar challenges? I’d love to hear your thoughts. #DigitalTransformation #SAP #SystemsIntegration #Leadership #ProjectManagement #Recruitment #hirebetter #localworldinc

🔍 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐀𝐏 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 After managing 20+ SAP programs globally, if there's one truth I’ve learned—it’s this: 🚨 Most SAP project risks don’t appear out of nowhere. They quietly build up—until it’s too late. So how do you catch them early? Here’s what I rely on: ✅ 1. Conduct Pre-kickoff Deep Dives Involve functional, technical, and business teams in pre-kickoff workshops to surface early concerns—before they turn into blockers. ✅ 2. Map Dependencies Ruthlessly From integrations to resource overlaps, identify internal and external dependencies and document mitigation paths. ✅ 3. Prioritize Stakeholder Alignment Conflicting expectations are silent killers. Clarify ownership, success criteria, and communication cadence right at the start. ✅ 4. Review Past Projects Religiously Leverage historical lessons from similar SAP rollouts. What delayed those projects? What caught leadership off guard? ✅ 5. Establish a Risk Culture Early Empower every team member to raise red flags without fear. The earlier you surface it, the cheaper it is to fix. 🎯 Great SAP leaders don’t just react to risks—they’re trained to anticipate them. 💬 What’s your go-to strategy for risk identification in SAP projects? #SAPProjectManagement #SAPProgramManager #RiskMitigation #ITLeadership #SAPTransformation #DigitalExecution #ERPStrategy #SAP #StakeholderManagement #ProjectRisk #SAPSuccess #TechLeadership 📍 Follow Nitin Mishra 💎 for more content on SAP Project and Program Management ♻️ Repost if you found this post helpful

SAP Projects Fail Not Because of Technology – But Because of This… Over the years of working in SAP projects across industries, I’ve seen a pattern. Projects don’t fail because SAP is complex. They fail because people and processes are ignored. Let me explain. One of the biggest implementation failures I witnessed wasn’t because of a wrong configuration. It was because the users were never trained properly. Go-Live happened. But guess what? Users had no clue how to enter sales orders. They went back to Excel. 💡 Lesson: If your users are not confident, even the best technology is useless. ---- In another project, the core team kept changing. No continuity, no ownership. The consulting team kept asking: “Who do we align with now?” Result? Delays, confusion, and a frustrated client. 💡 Lesson: Stable project teams are more valuable than flashy tools. ---- And one more – The client insisted on building everything custom from day one. “We are different,” they said. But they didn’t realize they were reinventing the wheel. Too many customizations led to chaos. 💡 Lesson: Adopt standard SAP processes first. Customize only when necessary. ---- So here’s what I’ve learnt: - Engage your users early - Keep your process owners involved throughout - Prioritize change management - Focus on outcomes, not just system go-lives Technology is just the enabler. But it's the people, mindset, and execution that drive success. If you're someone working on an SAP project right now – or about to start one – don’t ignore the “soft” side. That’s where most of the risk lies. #SAP #DigitalTransformation #Consulting #SAPSD #ProjectManagement #Mentorship #Leadership #TYGConsulting #SAPCareers