Fit-to-standard instead of WRICEF: How SAP systems are becoming more future-proof

Standardization is the key to sustainable SAP systems. With Clean Core and Fit to Standard, SAP is pursuing a clear vision: stable, maintainable, and future-proof ERP solutions. But what exactly is behind these concepts, and what does this mean for companies? Before discussing strategies, it is worth taking a look at the term itself: What exactly is a “standard”?

In the SAP environment, standard primarily refers to the preconfigured processes and system functions delivered by SAP as standard. These are often based on industry standards and country-specific requirements. Standardization in this sense means:

·        Harmonizing processes,

·        Simplifying configuration, and

·        Reducing in-house developments to the necessary minimum.

The goal is to create a system and process landscape that is as efficient, transparent, and maintainable as possible.

Why the focus on standard?

With Clean Core and Fit to Standard, SAP is pursuing a clear direction that also benefits companies:

·        Fewer individual adjustments lead to lower costs and less effort

·        Better data quality leads to fewer errors and greater efficiency

·        Standardized customer environments enable greater compatibility and faster implementation of future-proof customizations and innovations by SAP.

This is particularly relevant in the cloud context. In the public cloud, the use of the SAP standard is mandatory, while in the private cloud it is optional but strongly recommended. Only those who stay as close to the standard as possible can quickly adopt new features and benefit from innovations in the long term.

SAP deliberately formulates this strategy as a recommendation, not a doctrine. Even in a standardized environment, degrees of freedom are retained; they just need to be used in a targeted and structured manner.

Clean Core and Fit-to-Standard – two levels, one goal

The terms “Clean Core” and “Fit to Standard” are often used together, but they refer to different levels of SAP's standardization strategy.

Clean Core is not a single measure, but rather an overarching strategy. Its goal is to keep the SAP core free of individual modifications in the long term. Extensions are made using recommended methods such as APIs, the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), or side-by-side extensions. The data architecture is also taken into account in order to ensure that data make it consistently and efficiently usable across systems. In practice, a clean core means less legacy baggage in the system, greater stability, lower database load, and faster innovation. Updates and upgrades are easier to perform because no customer-specific adjustments need to be taken into account in the core.

Fit to Standard, on the other hand, describes a methodical approach. Business processes are compared with predefined SAP best practices and, if necessary and possible, adjusted accordingly. The goal is to avoid or at least minimize individual in-house developments. Workshops are used to determine where processes can be harmonized, which requirements are covered by the SAP standard, and where justified deviations must be documented. This also involves comparing the (target) processes and the underlying data with actual customer requirements, i.e., ensuring that standardization not only makes technical sense but also fits the company functionally. The central fit/gap analysis reveals the gaps between the status quo and the SAP standard.

Fit to Standard is thus the methodical path to the strategic goal, and Clean Core is a kind of mission statement that guides architectural decisions in the long term.

How can this be implemented in practice?

This is precisely where our approach at IBIS comes in. We deliberately do not start with blanket recommendations, but with a thorough analysis of the existing system. Our tools neutrally assess how close a customer's system currently is to the standard, where risks lie, and where there is potential for simplification and innovation.

Only when we have this overall picture do we work together to develop meaningful next steps tailored to the individual situation, strategic goals, and available resources. The aim is to make the SAP system future-proof while at the same time tailoring it precisely to the company's needs. With our analysis products, we help you take a well-founded and data-supported path to a clean core:

·        The standardization analysis determines how close a customer's system is to the SAP standard, and

·        The clean core analysis looks at the overall state of the system from an architectural perspective.

We look not only at individual components, but at the big picture, from configurations to organizations, master and transaction data (documents) to governance aspects. Only an objective overall view enables a realistic target vision.

Standardization is also communication and change

As clear as the technical advantages of Clean Core and Fit to Standard are on paper, the real challenge often lies in communication. This is because standardization is not purely an IT project, but a transformation process that affects all areas of the company.

Many projects show that as soon as processes are changed, each department defends its familiar procedures. The challenge is not only to achieve technical compliance with the SAP standard, but also organizational compliance between the teams involved.

It is therefore crucial that all stakeholders, from management to specialist departments, are involved at an early stage. This is the only way to resolve conflicting goals, create acceptance, and find common solutions. Standardization therefore requires not only good tools, but above all clear communication.

Standardization as a factor for success

When this dialogue is successful, it becomes clear that Clean Core and Fit to Standard are not just buzzwords, but strategic guidelines for sustainable SAP transformation. Companies benefit from:

·        Maintainable systems

·        Lower operating costs

·        Faster innovation cycles

·        Better data quality

SAP also benefits from more stable customer landscapes and better conditions for innovation and further development of the platform.

With our standardization analysis, we provide you not only with figures, but also with a complete picture of your ERP core, presented objectively, data-supported, and in an understandable way. Together, we develop the next step toward Clean Core, strategically and purposefully.