Common questions about SAP consulting, answered.

The most common root causes are projects that are underbid and oversold by integrators, poor change management, inadequate project documentation and stage gates, and consulting resources that aren't the right fit for the engagement. Studies show 70–75% of SAP and enterprise ERP projects fail to meet business objectives, run over budget, or experience significant delays. The single biggest factor is misaligned incentives — the integrator is paid to implement, not to protect your outcomes.

The most effective protection is independent oversight — a senior advisor on your side who is not affiliated with your integrator and has no incentive to approve poor work. Specifically: review statements of work before signing, enforce stage gates, maintain independent QA on deliverables, and establish clear change control procedures. Most failures are preventable with the right governance in place before the project begins.

Projects underbid and oversold that integrators can't deliver. Tools and add-ons (Signavio, RISE, BTP) that increase costs without proportional value. Consulting resources that aren't fit for your specific program. Inadequate documentation, deliverables, and reporting. Remote-heavy teams that underdeliver. Change control cost escalation from poorly worded SOW assumptions. Integration and UAT test cycle gaps. Rapid workshop decisions that produce poor design. Business process procedures left as a customer responsibility. Misunderstood public vs. private cloud trade-offs.

Start with an independent program assessment — not from your current integrator. Identify the root cause: is it a staffing problem, a scope problem, a design problem, or a governance problem? Each requires a different fix. Bring in a senior, independent SAP advisor to stabilize delivery, restructure the project plan, and establish accountability. Acting early is critical — the longer a troubled program runs unaddressed, the more expensive recovery becomes.

An independent SAP advisor protects the client's interests throughout a project — something an integrator cannot do because they have a financial stake in the engagement. They review and negotiate statements of work, assess integrator proposals and change requests, monitor delivery quality, flag risks before they become crises, and provide unbiased guidance on technology decisions. Unlike a Big 4 firm or systems integrator, an independent advisor's only loyalty is to the client's outcome.

Ideally before you issue your RFP — that's where independent advisors create the most value, helping you write a fair SOW that protects you from scope creep and integrator over-promising. The second best time is at project kickoff, when governance structures are established. If you're already in a troubled program, sooner is always better. Signs you need independent oversight now: your project is behind schedule, costs are escalating through change requests, your integrator is unresponsive, or you've lost confidence in delivery.

Big 4 firms (Deloitte, Accenture, PwC, KPMG) and large SIs (Capgemini, Infosys, TCS) lead with senior talent during the sales process, then staff engagements with junior consultants. They have vendor relationships that influence their recommendations. Their overhead drives up costs significantly. An independent SAP consultant — like Incremental Consulting — delivers senior expertise directly on every engagement, has no vendor affiliations, and charges a fraction of the cost because there is no organizational overhead to absorb.

Independent SAP advisory typically runs $150–$350/hour for senior-level consultants, depending on scope and engagement type. This is significantly less than Big 4 billing rates ($300–$600+/hour blended), and you get senior expertise instead of a mix of senior sellers and junior delivery staff. Project-based engagements (assessments, SOW reviews, program recovery) are often scoped at a flat fee. Ongoing advisory retainers are available for clients who want continuous oversight throughout a multi-year program.

A greenfield S/4HANA implementation for a mid-size enterprise typically takes 12–24 months. A brownfield conversion (upgrading from ECC) can range from 9–18 months depending on customization complexity. Factors that extend timelines: custom code volume, data quality, integration complexity, change management readiness, and the capacity of your integrator. The SAP ECC maintenance deadline creates urgency — but rushing a migration without adequate governance is how projects fail.

SAP is ending mainstream maintenance for SAP ECC 6.0 in 2027. After that date, customers can pay for extended maintenance but will no longer receive standard support updates or new functionality. This is driving a large wave of S/4HANA migrations. With demand for SAP consultants projected to be 3x supply by 2027, organizations that wait will face resource shortages, price increases, and longer delivery timelines. The window for a well-governed migration is now.

RISE with SAP is a cloud subscription bundle from SAP that packages S/4HANA Cloud, infrastructure, and support under one contract. It offers predictable costs and reduces infrastructure management overhead. However, it comes with trade-offs: reduced customization flexibility, dependency on SAP's cloud roadmap, and contract terms that require careful review. The right choice depends on your business complexity, customization requirements, and long-term IT strategy. An independent advisor can model both scenarios without any vendor bias.

The first step is a no-obligation discovery call with Sid Suarez. We'll discuss your SAP program, your current challenges, and whether independent advisory is the right fit. There's no pitch — just a direct conversation about your situation. From there, if it makes sense, we'll scope an engagement based on your specific needs.

Yes. While Incremental Consulting is headquartered in San Diego, CA, we serve enterprise clients nationwide. We have delivered SAP programs across the US, including government engagements, Fortune 500 manufacturers, and global rollouts. We work on-site when the engagement requires it and remotely when it doesn't.

We have delivered SAP programs across aerospace and defense, manufacturing, government, utilities, medical devices, oil and gas, semiconductor, electronics, automotive, consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, travel and transportation, retail, and engineering and construction. Our case study portfolio spans 40+ projects across more than 15 industries.