Moving to cloud ERP is not just investing in new software. It is committing to changing how your business operates.
That is the reality. Behind all the talk of faster deployments and streamlined processes lies a deeper shift. It requires rethinking your data, core processes, and how teams work together. And this shift does not begin at go-live. It begins months earlier, with the questions asked and the foundations put in place.
Many companies still approach cloud ERP as an IT upgrade. But the success of these programs rarely comes down to just technology. It comes down to how well you prepare, how you approach process standardization, data readiness, governance, and change leadership.
Even with the best intentions, challenges still show up. Teams struggle to balance global templates with local needs. Subject matter experts do not always have the time to fully participate. Expectations around timelines and automation can be misaligned from the start.
In a recent episode of the Future of ERP podcast, Abhishek Vasudevan, head of SAP S/4HANA at Westernacher, shared his perspective on what separates successful ERP transformations from the rest — from the most critical prerequisites to the common mistakes and what ERP looks like when it truly enables the business.
Breaking down business challenges and expectations
“Disconnected systems cause poor integration, data delays, and isolated teams,” Vasudevan explained. “The fragmentation creates barriers to real-time data visibility and integration, forcing reliance on manual work to piece together information from disparate sources. This slows decision-making and enforces artificial walls between business functions.”
Switching to an integrated, modern cloud ERP platform helps businesses break down barriers and provides real-time, cross-functional data flow.
Vasudevan also highlighted a critical hurdle: “There is a clear disconnect between how legacy users operate and the demands of moving to an integrated ERP system. The key question is whether the workforce can adapt to these changes and take on the challenges of adopting a new system and new ways of working.”
But one misconception is expecting a fully integrated ERP to be operational quickly by simply activating system functions. Faster implementations — which can sometimes take weeks or months instead of years — depend heavily on an organization’s ability to standardize processes across sites while retaining competitive differentiators.
“Success requires a phased “crawl, walk, run” approach focusing on processes, people, and standardization,” further explained Vasudevan.
Before a company ever starts configuring a system or training users, there is foundational work that must be done to set the stage for success. These are the conversations and actions that happen behind the scenes — months before go-live — that ultimately determine whether the implementation will deliver value.
Essential prerequisites for a successful ERP implementation
An effective cloud ERP adoption starts long before go-live. Based on extensive experience across industries, Vasudevan outlines six critical areas organizations must focus on early:
- Start with your data: Data is often the Achilles’ heel of ERP projects. Companies must start by understanding where their data lives, how clean it is, and whether it covers all critical business processes. That means assessing your sources early, ensuring completeness, and working with ERP experts to understand what fields matter and how your data should be structured.
- Understand the technical preparation, especially for upgrades: Even if you are doing what feels like a technical upgrade — like moving from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA — there is still deep preparation involved. Organizations must think through customer-vendor integration, system sizing, platform readiness, and historical data decisions. These technical topics are not just backend items; they directly affect the ability to execute a project smoothly.
- Rethink and standardize your processes: ERP implementations are a golden opportunity to simplify operations and remove legacy complexity. The more standardized processes are across regions, business units, and functions, the easier it becomes to scale and automate.
- Set up strong governance from the start: You need the right structure in place to guide the program, enable fast decisions, and stay aligned. That includes a clear steering committee, empowered business leads, and a process for how deviations will be evaluated and approved.
- Identify your internal change agent: Your system integrator will support change management, but someone from within your organization must to champion the change. This person should understand how things work today and be able to work across teams to bring clarity and alignment.
- Start identifying key and end users and prepare a plan for them early: Do not wait until testing or training to engage end users: start early. Understand their day-to-day, shape the design through day-in-the-life scenarios, and roll out MVPs that invite feedback.
Coming up, we will explore the most common challenges businesses face during and after ERP implementation. From data readiness gaps to change resistance, we will unpack the patterns that often derail projects — and how to stay ahead of them.