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Mastering SAP · Collaborate Singapore · 2026

The Evolution of SAP Implementation

From Blueprint to GROW Fast.
A thirty-year story, told in eight weeks.

Steve Turner SAP Certified FICO Consultant · CoreFi Partners
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Steve Turner

Steve Turner

SAP Certified FICO Consultant

Your presenter

Twenty years inside the SAP finance stack.

  • ◆
    SAP CertifiedPublic Cloud Finance · Management Accounting
  • ◆
    SAP ActivateProject Management certified
  • ◆
    20+ yearsSAP FICO implementation experience
  • ◆
    Director, CoreFi PartnersNew Zealand
  • ◆
    SpecialistS/4HANA Cloud Public Edition
Today's journey

Seven stops across three decades of SAP.

01The Old World of ERP
0230-Year SAP Evolution
03SAP Activate Methodology
04GROW with SAP
05SAP GROW Fast — 8 Weeks
06Finance & FICO Deep Dive
07Case Studies & Takeaways
Chapter One

The Old World.

When ERP took years, and the blueprint took months.

ERP the old way · 1990s — early 2010s

Eighteen to thirty-six months. Sometimes more.

18–36months to go-live
45%of projects exceeded budgetPanorama Consulting
3–6months in blueprintbefore a single line of config
  • Heavy customisation locked clients into permanent technical debt.
  • Business disruption stretched across multiple fiscal years.
  • Outcomes were variable. Cost was not.
The ASAP Era

Structured.
But slow.

  • ✓ Five phases, heavy phase-gates
  • ✓ Lengthy blueprint documents
  • ✗ Custom builds increased risk
  • ✗ 18–24 month average duration
  • ✗ High cost, variable outcomes
18–24 months · phase-gate ritual
Chapter Two

Thirty years,
faster every time.

30 years of SAP implementation evolution

Five eras. One direction.

1995
ASAP
Phase-gate waterfall methodology
2003
ASAP 2003
Faster implementation cycles
2016
Activate
Agile fit-to-standard approach
2023
GROW with SAP
Mid-market SaaS offering
2026
GROW Fast
8-week rapid delivery program
SAP Activate Methodology

Agile. Standard. Faster.

Excluding Discover and Run · the four phases that shape every modern engagement.

✓
Prepare
Scope and mobilise team
⌕
Explore
Fit-to-Standard workshops
⚙
Realize
Configure and test iteratively
↑
Deploy
Go-live and hypercare
Chapter Three

GROW.

Public Cloud ERP, for the mid-market — adapt the business to the platform.

GROW with SAP

Cloud ERP,
built for the mid-market.

  • 2023 Launched for mid-sized firms
  • SaaS S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition
  • TCO Lower than on-premise solutions
  • Releases Quarterly innovation, included
  • Target 3–6 month implementation
A quick clarification

"GROW" means three different things.

Clarifying that early avoids a lot of project confusion.

Commercial Journey

GROW with SAP / SAP GROW

The offer and journey for net-new ERP customers starting fresh in Public Cloud.

Implementation Method

SAP Activate

The six-phase framework with fit-to-standard, tools, accelerators, and delivery guidance.

Discover · Prepare · Explore · Realize · Deploy · Run

Delivery Motion

GROW Fast

A qualified-partner, standardized fast-start approach for rapid, low-risk go-lives.

GROW is not just an 8-week plan. It is package + platform + playbook.
Chapter Four

GROW Fast.

The 8-week ambition — and the 16-week reality we propose instead.

SAP GROW Fast · Official 8-Week Implementation Program · Launched 2026

Eight weeks. Seventy items. Day one AI.

8weeks
Implementation
70items
Minimum Viable Scope
Day 1
Joule AI embedded
  • Partner-led Pre-defined MVS scope
  • Scope Finance & Supply Chain
  • Commercial Fixed scope, time, and price
  • 50 days Go-live commitment
  • AI Joule assistant from Day 1
8-week delivery timeline

Four sprints. One go-live.

1
Week 0
Pre-start
  • Scoping
  • Environment setup
  • Team mobilisation
2
Week 1
Kick-off
  • Discovery workshops
  • MVS confirmation
  • Detailed project plan
3
Weeks 2–6
Build
  • Configuration
  • Data load
  • UAT & training
4
Weeks 7–8
Go-live
  • Cutover activities
  • Hypercare period
  • Day-1 support
Minimum Viable Scope · Based on 1,500+ implementations

Seventy things that almost every business needs.

  • 70 SAP-validated scope items
  • 54 Prescribed core process items
  • 16 Baseline activation platform items
  • Cover Finance · Sales · Procurement · Core Enterprise
  • Window Core used first 36 months
54 prescribed 16 baseline
Finance & FICO · What's included

The finance backbone ships with the box.

Core components

  • Universal JournalSingle source of truth for all financial data
  • AP & AR AutomationIntelligent workflows built into the core
  • Asset AccountingFully configured lifecycle management

Key outcomes

  • Faster period close50–70% reduction in closing time
  • Real-time reportingLive cost-centre analytics instantly
  • Bank integrationAutomated statement reconciliation
AI-First from Go-Live

Joule is not an upgrade. It's the operating system.

  • Day 1 Natural-language navigation across all modules
  • AP Automated PO matching and exception alerts
  • Finance Intelligent financial anomaly detection
  • 2025 Over 400 AI features targeted by end of year
  • 75% Of SAP users report measurable AI value
Additional topic · The talent challenge

The rare profile is not "an SAP consultant."
It is someone who can run standard-first design at sprint speed.

That blend is narrower than the market often assumes.

What that means in practice

  • Knows SAP standard well enough to say "yes", "no", or "phase 2" quickly
  • Can run fit-to-standard workshops without letting every issue become a redesign
  • Keeps decisions, dependencies, and actions moving week by week
  • Guides business users through change without sounding dismissive
A great configurator is not automatically a great GROW Fast consultant.
Additional topic · The hidden constraint

Fast projects compress calendar time.
They do not reduce business effort.

Month-end still happens. Payroll still runs. Operations still need decisions.

The client still needs to provide

  • Empowered key users in workshops
  • Fast process, data, and role decisions
  • Timely UAT and sign-off
  • Training participation and change champions
  • Availability around operational peaks
The real risk is usually not consultant hours. It is client bandwidth.
A practical option

50% effort. 2× the duration.
Same discipline. Gentler tempo.

Option A

The 8-week sprint

  • Best for a highly available sponsor and key users
  • Tight MVP scope and fast decisions
  • Minimal collisions with BAU peaks
Option B · recommended

The 16-week glide path
~20 hours / week

  • Same standard-first rules and scope discipline
  • More room for business reflection and sign-off
  • Easier fit with month-end, payroll, and BAU
  • More manageable pace for UAT, training, and review
Longer elapsed time helps humans. Strong governance still prevents scope creep.
Fit-to-Standard · Essential gaps only

A filter. Not a scavenger hunt for every difference.

Capture now if it is

  • Legally, audit, or control critical
  • A true blocker to doing the job
  • Materially important for reporting or integration

Defer or drop if it is

  • Preference or familiarity
  • Cosmetic or comfort-driven
  • A rare edge case with better phase-2 value
Work as if you could go live in 16 weeks — then use the extra time for training, rehearsal, data confidence, and executive review.
Additional topic · Readiness

Maybe the system could go live in 8 weeks.
The people might not.

That is not failure. That is useful honesty.

Readiness check

  • ☐ Empowered decision-makers available weekly
  • ☐ Key users can attend workshops and test promptly
  • ☐ Scope is genuinely MVP
  • ☐ Data owners are named and active
  • ☐ Leaders are willing to say "no" to nice-to-haves
  • ☐ Change management is active, not assumed
If several answers are "not yet", choose a longer runway. Good governance beats artificial speed.
Chapter Five

The proof.

Fifteen-hundred go-lives. Real numbers. Real customers.

The business case at a glance

Three eras. One direction of travel.

Metric Traditional ERP GROW with SAP GROW Fast
Timeline18–36 months3–6 months⚡8 weeks
Cost$500K – $5M$75K – $500K●Fixed price
CustomisationHeavyStandardMinimal
RiskHighMedium◆Low
AI from Day 1✗ No◐ Partial✓Yes
Proven financial impact · Forrester TEI — GROW with SAP

$3.1M of measured value. Three-year window.

$630K+
Infrastructure & labour savings
$443K
Disaster recovery cost avoidance
$370K
Profit lift from real-time decisions
6%
Revenue growth increase
30%
Efficiency gain for heavy users
$3.1M
Total financial improvement
over 3 years
Project spotlights

From sugar to steel. Same playbook.

Manufacturing · USA

Western Sugar Cooperative

Challenge: Manual, disconnected invoice workflows

Solution: SAP S/4HANA Cloud with Ariba integration

25% faster invoice processing
Manufacturing

TOPS

Challenge: Slow monthly financial close causing delays

Solution: SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition implementation

75% faster financial close
Industrial

Wefabricate

Challenge: Legacy ERP limiting business growth

Solution: SAP GROW Fast cloud-first approach

10 weeks to fully go-live
Recent wins · 2024–2025

Six industries. Six fast go-lives.

Western Sugar
USA
25% faster
AP automation
TOPS
Manufacturing
75% faster
Finance close
Wefabricate
Industrial
10 weeks
Go-live
Brussels Airport
Transport
Streamlined
Operations
FineField
Services
Real-time
Reporting
Rajasthan Barytes
Mining
3 months
ERP implementation
The consultant's new role

From technician → strategic advisor.

Before

Technician mindset

  • Writing long functional specifications
  • Managing custom development builds
  • Testing bespoke code configurations
→
After

Advisor mindset

  • Guiding critical scope decisions
  • Driving adoption and change management
  • Advising on Wave-2 scaling strategy
"The value is in the advisory, not the configuration."
After go-live · Wave 2 & beyond

Three waves to a full digital core.

01
Wave 1MVS core live · Finance & Supply Chain
02
Wave 2Extended modules · HR · CX · Analytics
03
Wave 3Advanced AI · industry-specific add-ons

Scaling strategy

  • Wave 1Establishes a solid MVS core foundation
  • Wave 2Adds specialised extended modules
  • Wave 3Deploys advanced AI capabilities
  • SAP BTPEnables clean-core custom extensions
  • QuarterlyContinuous innovation release cycle
GROW Fast · Singapore & Southeast Asia context

A mid-market moment for the region.

⏳
ECC maintenance ends Dec 2027 The clock is the headline driver across APAC ERP refreshes.
◎
SG & SEA mid-market fit Singapore SMEs, regional HQs, and ASEAN subsidiaries are ideal GROW Fast candidates.
⚒
Key sectors Manufacturing · Logistics & Maritime · Financial Services · Industrial Services.
⌘
Strong partner ecosystem EDG-supported digitalisation, mature SAP partners across Singapore and the region.
Key takeaways

Five things to carry back to the office.

  1. 01ERP is now delivered in weeks, not years.
  2. 02GROW Fast delivers MVS live in 8 weeks — and a 16-week glide path is a legitimate, often better, alternative.
  3. 03Joule AI is standard from Day 1, not an add-on.
  4. 04Forrester TEI: $3.1M measured improvement over three years.
  5. 05The consultant role is now strategic advisory — fit-to-standard, change, and Wave 2.
Mastering SAP · Collaborate Singapore · 2026

Thank you.

Steve Turner SAP Certified FICO Consultant · CoreFi Partners
Email steve@corefipartners.com LinkedIn sap-finance-specialist
#MasteringSAP · #SingaporeGROWFast