SAP Business One partner and customer must find each other

As an SAP Business One partner, you have to deal with the entire spectrum of medium-sized businesses. The customer and the SAP consultant often first have to find and align their roles. This is a task above all for the SAP partner.

Versino Financial Suite for SAP Business One Finance

When will the installers come

If I were sensitive, I would probably have been slightly offended. However, I found it funny at first and then interesting. The managing director of a company that was planning to introduce SAP Business One asked: When are your installers coming?

What he meant, of course, were the SAP Adviser. What became clear, however, was that we were not yet in complete agreement about the role of an SAP partner in an ERP project.
The idea that often prevails in SMEs with regard to an SAP Business One project often does not match the structured approach often practised by an SAP partner.

First misunderstandings between customer and SAP partner

A fundamental misunderstanding on the part of the customer is often how they see ERP software: A software package with a selection of functions that you install, train and then use.
The SAP consultant often sees the same software from a completely different perspective. He understands a Standard ERP such as SAP Business One as a modular system that is delivered with a certain set of functions and customised to the customer's requirements. Of course, the SAP partner must have the right employees for this. These are often SAP consultants with special specialisations.
In this example, the customer's view is that the SAP consultant should take him by the hand. The SAP partner should show him what to do.
In turn, the SAP Business One partner first wants to know exactly how the customer works. However, a good SAP consultant will primarily try to find out the customer's objectives.

The SAP Business One Partner and the "Standard Mantra"

A different understanding of the role of the SAP Business One partner is frequently encountered goes in the opposite direction to that described above. The SAP partner is seen as a software forge. The customer comes to the SAP consultant with a colourful bouquet of functions and wants them implemented. Whether they are covered by the standard ERP solution is irrelevant. Then you just have to programme them - that's why the SAP specialists are there.
The SAP consultant has a mantra in his head: Standard! Standard! Standard!
Customised programming is the very last option for him. He would like to expect the customer to make a change to the process instead of having to "bend"

The good SAP consultant is not an installer

As you can see, the relationship between SAP Business One Partner and SAP Business One characterises customers. A good SAP consultant knows about these hurdles when starting a new business. ERP project and will endeavour to clarify the roles in good time.
This requires backbone, experience and in-depth knowledge of the ERP application and the customer's processes.

SAP Business One Customers should look for SAP consultants not installers.

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