If you think the dynamics of a Thanksgiving feast cannot be likened to the transformative power of Cloud ERP in the business world, think again. Let’s take a look at how the family dinner table and a company’s digital transformation journey require careful and concise planning, collaboration, and a commitment to future legacies.

The Recipe for a Successful Cloud Migration

There is an abundance of proactive planning that occurs to ensure the Thanksgiving table is properly set.  From dining room seating to family accommodations to meal prep, the execution of Thanksgiving doesn’t happen overnight.

Just as a host meticulously plans to ensure a perfect meal, businesses also need to strategize before moving to the Cloud.  Through process optimization and mining tools, like Signavio, companies now have the power to embrace a “clean core” strategy.  Like a Thanksgiving feast where 80% of a meal is the same every year (turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy) but 20% may change every year (side dishes, desserts), implementing a cloud system follows a similar approach. A clean core strategy means 80% of the system is standard, only enhancing or customizing 20%, where true differentiation is required.

Michel Roger from Accenture, agrees with this analogy.

“For more than 20+ years, ERP customizations was king, resulting in higher TCO to maintain the ERP software maintenance up to date,” said Roger. “Moving to the cloud requires a more pragmatic value driven approach, more standard practices, and limiting solution extension to areas where value to the business is clear.”

To Succeed, You Must Gather the Right People Around the Table

Thanksgiving is all about gathering with family members around an abundantly filled dinner table. Sure, the various types of food equate to a sometimes diverse menu, but it also highlights the importance of collaboration and unity.

Just as a family group chat might be used to ideate and solidify plans for a feast, S/4HANA Cloud allows companies to promote cross-functional collaboration by breaking down siloes and streamlining operations.  By merging data and processes, the Cloud fosters a sense of unity in a company’s operations.

However, this type of successful implementation doesn’t occur overnight, according to Accenture’s Roger.

“Successful solution implementation typically starts with a shared view / alignment across all departments and functions. The team has to be aligned as to how decisions and trade-offs are going to be made to take the right strategic and solution decisions along the way.”

Keeping Your Core Values Whilst Future-Proofing your Business

Thanksgiving is the chance to pass down family traditions and values to the next generation, from a grandmother’s famous mashed potato recipe to the secret ingredient in the stuffing.  But, in today’s multi-generational world, Thanksgiving dinners have to appeal to both the grandparents and the grandchildren, alike.

Much like the challenge of balancing traditional and new recipes in one meal, companies need to future-proof their business whilst keeping their core values at the forefront.

“Companies need to engage in a true process reengineering by decomposing existing process, and defining what is the ‘Prime Value Chain’, to better see where and how the company is actually creating value,” said Roger. “With this digital process representation, they can see the pitfalls, value added vs non-value activities, automation opportunities, etc.”

The Cloud and other intelligent technologies, such as AI, enables companies to digitize their business processes and make smarter and better decisions to remain competitive and relevant in an ever-changing digital landscape for years to come.

During this time of giving thanks with the family, we should also give thanks to the farmers, keeping in mind the suppliers, and businesses that make the Thanksgiving meal a reality.

To learn more about how your company can digitize their business processes with Cloud ERP solutions, feast your eyes on the Cloud ERP Essentials: Webcast Series.