Strategies – Implementation – Experience
Rolling out SAP S/4HANA across multiple countries requires more than just technology. It demands a structured strategy, precise execution, and a deep understanding of local and global business needs. At msg Plaut, we combine decades of rollout expertise with a field-proven methodology that ensures efficiency, compliance, and scalability.
- Centralised project management with harmonised templates
- Local consulting teams ensuring cultural, legal, and operational fit
- Balanced approach between corporate standardisation and local adaptation
- End-to-end delivery: from strategic planning to technical go-live and post-rollout optimisation
Overcoming Global Rollout Challenges
Global SAP rollouts often face tension between headquarters and subsidiaries:
- Headquarters push for standardisation, centralised reporting, and control.
- Subsidiaries demand flexibility, local compliance, and customer-centric processes.
msg Plaut bridges this gap. Our change management approach motivates subsidiaries by emphasising local benefits (mobile apps, SAP Fiori, self-service tools, integrated reporting) while maintaining global efficiency and compliance.
With us, you achieve the best of both worlds:
- Central processes and local requirements
- Uniform reporting and meaningful local analyses
- Compliance with standards and flexibility for innovation
Proven FIT-GAP Methodology
To ensure a controlled rollout, we rely on a structured FIT-GAP approach:
- Systematic identification of local requirements
- Categorisation and prioritisation of gaps
- Clear decision-making for template integration vs. local solution
- Cost transparency: global requirements are shared, country-specific needs are locally financed
This ensures harmonisation across countries while avoiding costly “nice-to-have” distractions.
Efficient Use of S/4HANA in All Countries
SAP S/4HANA is not just an ERP upgrade—it’s the foundation for global business transformation. With its in-memory computing, real-time analytics, and task-oriented user interfaces, S/4HANA enables companies to harmonise processes across multiple regions while addressing local requirements. The result is a unified, future-ready platform that increases transparency, agility, and resilience across your organisation.
Key business benefits include:
By embedding advanced security frameworks and compliance features, S/4HANA helps organisations meet regulatory requirements in every market. Real-time monitoring, integrated audit trails, and automated compliance checks minimise risk exposure and ensure that businesses remain aligned with industry-specific and country-specific regulations.
S/4HANA enables companies to standardise workflows and business processes globally while allowing for localisation where necessary. This harmonisation improves collaboration across subsidiaries, reduces process complexity, and eliminates redundancies—creating a leaner, more transparent operating model that supports consistent service delivery worldwide.
With integrated financial and operational data, organisations gain a single source of truth. This allows for consolidated group reporting, streamlined planning cycles, and consistent performance metrics across all markets. Unified reporting not only supports better decision-making but also empowers leadership teams to identify growth opportunities and mitigate risks with confidence.
S/4HANA automates repetitive tasks and optimises end-to-end workflows—from procurement and supply chain management to finance and HR. This reduces manual effort, minimises errors, and accelerates cycle times. As a result, employees can focus on high-value tasks while the organisation benefits from increased productivity and reduced operational costs.
Strategies for S/4HANA Rollout
A successful SAP S/4HANA rollout requires more than technology—it demands a clear strategy that aligns central governance with local requirements. Each organisation has different priorities: headquarters may push for standardised processes and transparency, while subsidiaries often focus on meeting local regulations, customer expectations, and operational independence. Choosing the right rollout strategy—whether a fast, parallel rollout or a phased, step-by-step approach—is crucial for ensuring both consistency and acceptance across all entities.
In-One-Step Rollout
Rolling out multiple countries in parallel with a centralised template and local teams working simultaneously.
Advantages:
- Shorter project duration: By rolling out several countries at once, you significantly reduce the overall lead time compared to sequential projects.
- Uniform release state: All countries go live on the same template and release version, eliminating discrepancies and ensuring standardisation across the organisation.
- Stable template core: A consistent blueprint forms the foundation, reducing rework and ensuring compliance with group-wide standards.
- Lower overall cost: Shared resources, harmonised processes, and reduced duplication lower project and maintenance expenses in the long run.
- Global transparency: Centralised data and processes provide leadership with one version of the truth across all subsidiaries.
Considerations:
- Requires a larger upfront investment in resources and strong change management, as multiple countries must adapt simultaneously.
Step-by-Step Rollout
Rolling out countries sequentially, one after another, with each implementation building on the experience of the previous one.
Advantages:
- Conserves resources: Focused rollouts require fewer simultaneous teams, making it easier to allocate staff and budget.
- Knowledge transfer and learning curve: Lessons learned in early countries improve subsequent implementations, reducing risk and increasing efficiency.
- Adaptability: Provides more room to adjust to unforeseen challenges, regulatory changes, or shifting priorities during the rollout journey.
Challenges:
- Longer project lead time: Sequential rollouts can extend the overall transformation period by years.
- Inconsistent release states: Different subsidiaries may run on varying release versions or templates until final harmonisation.
- Risk of template drift: Local adaptations may accumulate, increasing the danger of fragmented systems and rising maintenance costs.
- Higher cumulative cost: Extended timelines and multiple template adjustments can make the approach more expensive overall.
Finding the Best of Both Worlds
In practice, many organisations opt for a hybrid approach: grouping several countries into rollout waves to combine efficiency with flexibility. msg Plaut helps you define the optimal balance, leveraging our decades of experience in complex, multinational S/4HANA projects. With structured fit-gap analysis, clear governance, and strong local engagement, we ensure you achieve the best of both: global harmonisation and local relevance.
Our International Rollout Experience
msg Plaut has successfully delivered SAP rollouts in more than 25 countries, including Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, USA, Turkey, Poland, and many more.
Our approach combines:
- Central coordination with uniform templates
- Local execution by culturally aligned teams in native languages
- Nearshore resources for cost efficiency and quality delivery in reporting, interfaces, developments, and forms
Customer Success Story – UNIQA (Webcast)
In our webcast with UNIQA, we shared insights into how msg Plaut helped one of Europe’s largest insurance groups roll out SAP S/4HANA successfully.
Highlights from the webcast:
- How UNIQA balanced global templates with local legal requirements
- Why early change management was key to adoption
- How msg Plaut’s FIT-GAP methodology reduced complexity and costs
- Lessons learned for future-proofing SAP rollouts
Watch it now!
Why msg Plaut?
With msg Plaut, you gain more than an implementation partner – you gain a long-term sparring partner who:
- Understands the strategic business impact of SAP rollouts
- Brings decades of proven rollout expertise across industries and borders
- Combines central project excellence with local cultural understanding
- Offers cost-efficient nearshore support and future-proof solutions
Your success is our benchmark. Together, we make global rollouts efficient, reliable, and sustainable.
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