The need for SAP Functional Consulting in SAP BW projects

It is inevitable for this world to stop adapting to changes. When it comes to working with business applications like SAP BW, customers are essential should look forward to constant up gradation and advancement in order to survive the competition. As most of the SAP BW users happens to be the businesses facing the challenging and competitive market, they need to find and implement upgrades on every system they work on and there is virtually always a need to make changes to the SAP ERP system that is typically driving SAP BW.

Why exactly is the need for SAP Functional Consulting?

There exists an initial RFP driven selection process where the proposals are submitted by different software vendors like SAP and their partners. In order to make sure that the deal is made, the customer should make certain compromises on the scope and thereby reduce the cost of the project.

How the requirements are consolidated?

While implementing the SAP ERP, the professionals will analyze the requirements that were not identified during the RFP development process and they are surfaced and covered during the blueprint process. Once the request for change is submitted, the role of project manager comes into play where he/she will evaluate ever requirements in terms of its merits.

Many requirements go unimplemented

After the negotiation, all of the changes will not be incorporated. In fact, many are likely to stay waiting or never implemented. These unapproved changes are parked in a list called ‘Go-Live to do list’. "On one 5000 man-days fixed price project, this author ran, there was more than 3000 man-days worth of requested changes made.  Each required evaluation, and consumption of much of the management reserve, even after denying most of them."

Cost of maintaining ‘Go-Live’

Though the change project brings substantial changes to accelerate growth, the ERP users will be learning that they will have to have some sort of what will prove to be fairly expensive SAP resources to manage the SAP system post Go-Live. Averagely, the minimum cost of maintaining them varies from,

•          Basis Consultants x 2
•          FI/CO Finance Consultant x 1
•          MM/SD Materials Management/Sales and Distribution Consultant X 1

Thus the Need for Functional SAP Consulting arises to manage and determine the best possible ways to adjust the expenses. For instance, It requires deep expertise with the IS-Retail Solution and MRP strategies, as well as current knowledge of ‘best practices’. Wouldn’t really make sense to have someone sitting around for 10 years waiting to make this update.   That is why you need a way to both have this expertise on demand and to do it cheaply.