SAP isn’t just another system. It touches all your business processes, data, and decision-making and covers nearly every business function. That’s why choosing the right SAP partner is essential. The right one will help your business move forward. The wrong one will cost you time and money without providing real results.
Here are 5 questions to ask to make sure your SAP partner is the right fit for your business:
1. Do you understand my industry and its unique challenges?
Every industry comes with its own unique mix of needs, complexities, and competitive dynamics. An SAP partner who truly understands your industry won’t just configure some applications and call it done; they will help shape solutions that work for your business.
Deep industry expertise means they can anticipate common pain points before they become massive headaches, apply proven best practices learned from similar implementations, and design processes that fit your business model, not force your business into generic templates. Most companies will tell you that they have experience solving problems like yours, but the truth is that very few have the capability to act as an advisor who understands where your industry is headed and how SAP can support you in staying efficient and competitive.
That’s why you should ask for case studies, customer references, and measurable outcomes from projects in your sector. A partner who can prove that they know what your industry needs shows that they are more than just a vendor, positioning themselves as a strategic ally who can help your business thrive.
2. What are your team’s capabilities and skills?
In every software project, one of the biggest risks is a lack of the relevant skills. With SAP covering an extremely large ecosystem and with skilled SAP consultants in short supply, this is an even bigger concern. The right partner will not only have certified consultants, but they will also back up their solution with a senior, stable delivery team that brings years of practical experience to the table.
Senior consultants have the experience to identify challenges and solve complex problems faster and have been through enough implementations to know what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid common pitfalls. In addition, your SAP partner’s capabilities should go beyond focusing on the technology and extend to transferring lasting knowledge to your internal team.
3. How do you approach change management and user adoption?
Implementing a new system is a complete waste of time and money if people in your organization don’t use it. Your partner should have proven methodologies for training, communication, and ongoing support to ensure that adoption sticks across the business.
Your partner should empower employees at every level with the knowledge and confidence they need to ensure your SAP implementation is a success. Training should be an ongoing process, and your partner should make it standard practice to work side by side with end users during and after the rollout to answer questions, troubleshoot, and build trust.
4. How will you integrate with my team?
The best SAP projects don’t happen in silos. A true partner works side by side with your people, embedding themselves into your processes, culture, and goals. Look for partners who emphasize collaboration, knowledge transfer, and co-creation, rather than those who operate at arm’s length.
Every project will have its stresses and strains, but if your partner works side by side with your people, learns your culture, and aligns to your business goals, those can easily be overcome. Effectively becoming an extension of your team allows your SAP partner to understand users’ day-to-day challenges and create a solution that takes best practice and your organization’s reality into account.
5. How will it deliver value?
SAP is evolving rapidly. From S/4HANA migrations to AI-driven analytics, SAP has added more complexity into an already complex ecosystem. This means a partner that just tries to deliver what you ask for is probably going to run into a number of challenges. Often, business users frame requirements in terms of familiar processes or tools, replicating their old ways of working in a new system. This ignores the opportunity to refine the solution to focus on what outcomes the project is trying to achieve.
What every business needs is a partner that can help you distinguish between what you think you need and what will actually deliver business value. That means challenging assumptions, identifying underlying needs, and translating those into SAP capabilities that drive real results. The goal is not simply a technically correct implementation but one that creates measurable value, whether that’s cost savings, faster insights, stronger compliance, or better customer experience. The right partner should keep you focused on outcomes and ensure that every requirement connects back to a bigger business objective.
A partner, not just a provider
An SAP implementation is one of the most significant investments a business can make, but the technology itself is only part of the equation. The success of the project and the value it delivers long after go-live depend on having the right partner in place. Unfortunately, many companies deliver what you ask for, hand over the system, and leave you to figure out adoption, optimization, and change management on your own.
The right SAP partner does more than execute tasks or check boxes. They should become an extension of your team and take the time to understand your organization, your processes, your culture, and your long-term business goals. They should be strategic, collaborative, and forward-looking, focusing not only on implementation but also on measurable outcomes, business transformation, and long-term ROI.
By Steve Hughes, Program Director, BTEC Consulting