For a UK enterprise, the case for moving to SAP S/4HANA should not be built around a technology upgrade alone.
An S/4HANA programme can require significant investment in software, implementation, data, integrations, testing, change management, infrastructure, and internal resources. The business case therefore needs to demonstrate something more important than technical readiness:
Why should the organisation invest in changing its ERP platform now, and what measurable business value will the investment create?
This is particularly important for organisations still running SAP ERP 6.0. SAP states that mainstream maintenance for the latest three enhancement packages of SAP ERP 6.0 runs through 31 December 2027, followed by optional extended maintenance through 31 December 2030. SAP also maintains its innovation commitment for S/4HANA through 2040, with at least one S/4HANA release in maintenance at any given time.
The maintenance timeline can be an important business driver, but it should not be the entire business case.
A stronger case connects:
Business Strategy + Current-State Costs + Transformation Benefits + Migration Investment + Risk + Future Value
The objective is to demonstrate not only that the organisation needs to change, but that the proposed S/4HANA transformation is the right investment compared with the realistic alternatives.
What Makes a Strong S/4HANA Business Case?
What Makes a Strong S/4HANA Business Case?
A weak business case often looks like:
Legacy SAP → S/4HANA → Modern Technology
That is not enough to secure a major enterprise investment.
A stronger business case answers six questions:
- Why does the organisation need to change?
- What does the current SAP environment cost today?
- What business problems will S/4HANA solve?
- What will the transformation cost?
- What are the risks and alternatives?
- How will value be measured after go-live?
The final business case should allow executives to compare:
Stay as Is
vs.
Optimise Existing SAP
vs.
Migrate / Transform to S/4HANA
This is more credible than assuming the migration decision has already been made.
1. Start With the Business Drivers, Not the Technology
1. Start With the Business Drivers, Not the Technology
The strongest S/4HANA business cases begin with business strategy.
Typical drivers for a UK enterprise may include:
- international expansion;
- acquisitions and ERP consolidation;
- supply-chain transformation;
- finance transformation;
- manufacturing modernisation;
- cloud strategy;
- reduction of technical debt;
- process standardisation;
- improved data visibility;
- automation and AI;
- changing regulatory requirements;
- difficulty maintaining the current SAP environment.
For example, a UK manufacturer may not need S/4HANA simply because its ERP is old.
It may need a new ERP strategy because:
- five business units operate different processes;
- acquisitions have created multiple ERP instances;
- production planning relies on spreadsheets;
- finance reporting requires substantial manual reconciliation;
- warehouse and transport systems are poorly integrated;
- the current SAP landscape limits further automation.
The business case should connect the ERP problem to the business problem.
Better framing
Instead of:
“We need S/4HANA because SAP ERP is approaching the end of mainstream maintenance.”
Use:
“We need to modernise our ERP platform to support the business strategy, reduce operational and technical risk, standardise critical processes, and establish a sustainable platform for future growth.”
The maintenance timeline then becomes one of the supporting factors.
2. Establish the Current-State Baseline
2. Establish the Current-State Baseline
Before calculating the value of migration, establish what the organisation is spending and how the current SAP environment performs.
This baseline should cover four areas.
Technology
Measure:
- SAP infrastructure costs;
- hosting;
- database;
- licences;
- support;
- third-party tools;
- monitoring;
- backup and disaster recovery;
- specialist contractors.
Application Management
Measure:
- support tickets;
- P1/P2 incidents;
- recurring incidents;
- support hours;
- emergency changes;
- backlog;
- custom development effort;
- maintenance effort.
Business Processes
Measure:
- process cycle times;
- manual activities;
- approval times;
- reconciliation effort;
- order processing;
- procurement;
- financial close;
- warehouse processing;
- production planning.
Data and Integration
Measure:
- duplicate master data;
- manual data corrections;
- failed interfaces;
- integration support effort;
- reporting delays;
- data reconciliation effort.
Without this baseline, the organisation risks making claims such as:
“S/4HANA will reduce costs.”
without knowing what those costs actually are today.
3. Calculate the Cost of Staying Where You Are
3. Calculate the Cost of Staying Where You Are
One of the most important improvements to an S/4HANA business case is to model the cost of staying.
The alternative to migration is not zero cost.
A legacy SAP environment may continue to generate:
- maintenance;
- infrastructure;
- support;
- custom-code remediation;
- security work;
- specialist skills;
- integration maintenance;
- manual processes;
- technical debt;
- upgrade projects;
- operational risk.
For SAP ERP 6.0 EHP6–8, mainstream maintenance ends on 31 December 2027, followed by an optional extended-maintenance phase through 31 December 2030.
This means the business case should model several scenarios.
Scenario A — Stay on Current SAP
Include:
- current operating costs;
- expected maintenance costs;
- support;
- security and compliance;
- infrastructure;
- technical debt;
- specialist resource requirements.
Scenario B — Extend the Current Environment
Include:
- extended maintenance where applicable;
- additional technical work;
- temporary remediation;
- delayed transformation;
- eventual migration costs.
Scenario C — Move to S/4HANA
Include:
- transformation cost;
- implementation;
- data;
- testing;
- change;
- new operating model;
- future support.
This creates a much more credible comparison.
4. Separate the Business Case Into Value Categories
4. Separate the Business Case Into Value Categories
A comprehensive business case should not put every potential benefit into one “ROI” number.
Separate value into clear categories.
Direct Cost Reduction
Examples:
- lower infrastructure costs;
- reduced legacy support effort;
- fewer manual activities;
- reduced custom-code maintenance;
- lower integration maintenance effort.
Operational Efficiency
Examples:
- shorter financial close;
- faster order processing;
- reduced procurement effort;
- faster warehouse processes;
- fewer manual reconciliations.
Risk Reduction
Examples:
- reduced dependence on obsolete technology;
- lower technical debt;
- better security and supportability;
- reduced key-person dependency;
- improved business continuity.
Revenue and Growth Enablement
Examples:
- faster launch of new products;
- faster entry into new markets;
- easier acquisition integration;
- improved customer fulfilment;
- improved supply-chain responsiveness.
Strategic Value
Examples:
- enterprise-wide process standardisation;
- cloud transformation;
- stronger data foundation;
- SAP BTP adoption;
- automation;
- AI-enabled processes.
Not every benefit should be converted into a financial figure.
Some should remain explicit strategic or risk-adjusted benefits.
5. Quantify Business-Process Benefits
5. Quantify Business-Process Benefits
This is where many ERP business cases become much stronger.
Instead of saying:
“S/4HANA improves efficiency.”
identify a measurable business process.
Finance
Current:
Financial close = 10 business days
Target:
Financial close = 7 business days
Potential value:
- finance effort released;
- faster management reporting;
- earlier visibility of variances.
Accounts Receivable
Current:
40% of incoming payments require manual intervention
Target:
25%
Potential value:
- lower manual processing;
- faster clearing;
- lower unapplied cash;
- better AR productivity.
Procurement
Current:
Manual purchase-order processing = 30 minutes per transaction
Target:
20 minutes
Potential value:
10 minutes × annual transaction volume × loaded labour cost
Warehouse
Current:
Manual exception handling = 1,500 hours annually
Target:
900 hours
Potential value:
600 hours × loaded labour cost
The business case becomes much more credible when benefits are tied to actual operational baselines.
6. Build the S/4HANA Migration Cost Model
6. Build the S/4HANA Migration Cost Model
The cost model should be significantly broader than the implementation partner's proposal.
A comprehensive cost model should include at least:
| Cost Category | Examples |
| Assessment | Readiness, discovery, architecture |
| Software | SAP subscriptions / licences where applicable |
| Implementation | Functional and technical delivery |
| Data | Cleansing, mapping, migration, reconciliation |
| Custom Code | Analysis, remediation, redevelopment |
| Integration | Interface redesign and testing |
| Infrastructure | Cloud, hosting, environments |
| Testing | Functional, integration, regression, performance |
| Change Management | Training, communications, adoption |
| Internal Resources | Business SMEs and IT staff |
| Programme Management | PMO, governance, architecture |
| Cutover | Migration rehearsals, downtime, go-live |
| Hypercare | Additional support after go-live |
| Decommissioning | Legacy SAP and related systems |
| Ongoing Operations | AMS, cloud, support, monitoring |
The organisation should also include contingency for material risks rather than assuming the initial implementation estimate is the final investment.
7. Do Not Confuse Migration Cost With Total Cost of Ownership
7. Do Not Confuse Migration Cost With Total Cost of Ownership
The initial migration investment is only one part of the financial model.
Compare:
Current-State TCO
Infrastructure + Support + Development + Interfaces + Security + Contractors + Operational Inefficiency
with:
S/4HANA TCO
Subscription / Licensing + Cloud + Support + AMS + Enhancements + Internal Team + Governance
Then calculate:
Total Cost of Ownership = Transformation Investment + Ongoing Operating Costs
over an agreed planning horizon, for example:
5 years or 7 years
The planning period should reflect the organisation's actual investment strategy.
A migration may have a high initial cost while producing lower operating costs over time.
Conversely, a cloud ERP programme may shift costs from capital expenditure to recurring operating expenditure without necessarily lowering total cost automatically.
The business case should therefore focus on total economic value, not on one cost category.
8. Build a Realistic ROI Model
8. Build a Realistic ROI Model
A basic ROI calculation can be expressed as:
ROI = (Total Benefits − Total Investment) ÷ Total Investment × 100
But enterprise ERP projects need more than one percentage.
Track:
Net Benefit
Total Quantified Benefits − Total Transformation Cost
Payback Period
How long does it take for cumulative benefits to recover the initial investment?
NPV
For larger programmes, calculate Net Present Value over the agreed investment horizon.
IRR
For more sophisticated investment cases, calculate the Internal Rate of Return.
TCO
Compare the total cost of the current environment with the target S/4HANA environment.
This gives finance leadership a more complete picture than a single ROI percentage.
9. Separate Hard Benefits From Soft Benefits
9. Separate Hard Benefits From Soft Benefits
Not every benefit should be treated as guaranteed savings.
Hard Benefits
These can usually be measured directly.
Examples:
- infrastructure reduction;
- licence reduction;
- contractor reduction;
- support effort reduction;
- lower manual processing cost;
- avoided system replacement cost.
Soft or Strategic Benefits
These may create substantial value without appearing as direct P&L savings.
Examples:
- faster decision-making;
- better customer experience;
- improved employee experience;
- faster acquisition integration;
- better visibility;
- improved agility;
- stronger data governance.
Do not turn every strategic benefit into a speculative cash figure.
Instead, assign:
Value + Measurement Method + Confidence Level
For example:
| Benefit | Measurement | Confidence |
| Reduced support effort | Support hours / month | High |
| Faster close | Days to close | High |
| Better planning | Forecast accuracy | Medium |
| Faster market entry | Days to launch | Medium |
| Better decision-making | Management reporting cycle | Medium |
This makes the business case more credible.
10. Model S/4HANA Benefits Conservatively
10. Model S/4HANA Benefits Conservatively
Avoid unsupported assumptions such as:
- “30% productivity improvement”;
- “50% lower IT costs”;
- “20% faster close”.
Published customer examples can be useful benchmarks, but they should not automatically become forecast results for another organisation.
SAP publishes customer and solution material showing benefits from S/4HANA and cloud ERP, but outcomes depend heavily on the implementation, scope, operating model, adoption, and starting point.
For an internal business case, use:
Current Baseline → Target → Measurement Method
rather than generic industry percentages.
11. Include the Value of SAP Standardisation
11. Include the Value of SAP Standardisation
One of the less obvious S/4HANA benefits can come from process standardisation.
A UK enterprise may have:
- different purchasing processes;
- different approval rules;
- different master-data definitions;
- different financial procedures;
- different reporting structures.
The migration creates an opportunity to establish:
Global Process Standard
with:
Approved Local Variations
This can reduce:
- process complexity;
- support effort;
- training requirements;
- integration variations;
- reporting inconsistencies;
- technical debt.
For organisations with acquisitions or multiple business units, this can be one of the most important strategic benefits.
12. Include Data and Integration Benefits
12. Include Data and Integration Benefits
A stronger business case also quantifies improvements that sit outside the ERP core.
Data
Measure:
- duplicate master records;
- manual corrections;
- data quality incidents;
- reporting reconciliation;
- time spent resolving data issues.
Integration
Measure:
- interface failures;
- support hours;
- number of redundant interfaces;
- manual reconciliations;
- integration latency.
S/4HANA transformation may provide an opportunity to rationalise and redesign these areas.
The value should be attributed to specific changes rather than automatically attributed to “S/4HANA”.
13. Build the Risk-Adjusted Business Case
13. Build the Risk-Adjusted Business Case
Every major SAP transformation carries risk.
The business case should therefore model:
Base Case + Downside Case + Upside Case
Base Case
Assumes expected implementation cost and benefit levels.
Downside Case
Assumes:
- cost overruns;
- delayed benefits;
- additional custom-code remediation;
- longer parallel running;
- lower adoption;
- integration problems.
Upside Case
Assumes:
- successful process standardisation;
- higher automation;
- faster adoption;
- stronger benefits realisation.
This gives executives a much better understanding of the investment range.
14. Include the Cost of Delay
14. Include the Cost of Delay
One of the most commonly missed elements is the cost of waiting.
Delaying an S/4HANA programme can have both positive and negative effects.
Potential benefits of delay:
- more time to prepare;
- better technology maturity;
- more time to fund the programme;
- opportunity to consolidate acquisitions.
Potential costs:
- continued legacy maintenance;
- additional technical debt;
- higher support effort;
- postponed business benefits;
- increased migration pressure;
- reduced availability of legacy expertise;
- additional interim projects.
For UK organisations on SAP ERP 6.0 EHP6–8, maintenance timing is another factor to incorporate into this analysis. SAP's current strategy provides mainstream maintenance through 2027 and optional extended maintenance through 2030.
The business case should therefore compare:
Migrate Now
vs.
Migrate Later
rather than simply:
Migrate vs. Do Not Migrate
15. Build the Business Case Around Alternatives
15. Build the Business Case Around Alternatives
Executives are more likely to trust a business case when they can see the alternatives.
Consider at least four scenarios.
Option A — Maintain Current SAP
Minimal transformation.
Pros:
- lowest immediate investment;
- limited disruption.
Cons:
- technical debt continues;
- benefits are deferred;
- future transformation pressure remains.
Option B — Optimise Existing SAP
Targeted technical and process improvements.
Pros:
- lower transformation risk;
- faster improvements;
- preserves existing investments.
Cons:
- may not resolve fundamental architecture constraints;
- some legacy complexity remains.
Option C — System Conversion to S/4HANA
Modernise while retaining significant existing configuration.
Pros:
- greater continuity;
- preserves relevant business investment;
- establishes the S/4HANA platform.
Cons:
- legacy complexity may remain;
- custom-code and simplification work still required.
Option D — New S/4HANA Implementation
Build a new target architecture.
Pros:
- maximum opportunity for standardisation;
- cleaner target environment;
- easier to redesign processes.
Cons:
- greater transformation effort;
- greater organisational change;
- larger data and process migration challenge.
The business case should compare all options that are genuinely feasible.
16. Define Business KPIs Before Migration
16. Define Business KPIs Before Migration
The business case should become the baseline for value realisation.
Choose KPIs from several categories.
Financial
- TCO;
- cost per transaction;
- support cost;
- working-capital measures;
- financial close cost.
Operational
- order-to-cash cycle;
- procure-to-pay cycle;
- production planning cycle;
- warehouse throughput;
- inventory accuracy.
IT
- incident volume;
- support hours;
- technical debt;
- interface failures;
- custom-code footprint.
Data
- duplicate master data;
- data-quality errors;
- reporting reconciliation;
- report generation time.
User Adoption
- training completion;
- active usage;
- Fiori adoption;
- user satisfaction;
- process compliance.
Transformation
- automation rate;
- new-process deployment time;
- acquisition integration time;
- number of standardised processes.
The exact KPI set should reflect the business case, not become a generic dashboard.
17. Establish a Benefits-Realisation Model
17. Establish a Benefits-Realisation Model
A business case should not end when the project is approved.
Assign each expected benefit:
- an owner;
- a baseline;
- a target;
- a measurement method;
- a target date.
For example:
| Benefit | Owner | Baseline | Target | Measurement |
| Financial close | CFO / Finance | 10 days | 7 days | Close calendar |
| Manual AP effort | Finance Ops | 100% baseline | -25% | FTE / hours |
| Interface incidents | IT | 200 / quarter | <100 | Service management |
| Duplicate vendors | Procurement | 4,500 | <500 | Master-data report |
| Support cost | CIO | £X | £Y | Annual operating cost |
| User adoption | Business | 0% | >90% | Usage data |
This transforms the business case from an investment document into an operating framework.
18. Include Transition Costs and the Temporary "Two-World" Operating Model
18. Include Transition Costs and the Temporary "Two-World" Operating Model
One of the costs most often underestimated is the period when the organisation is running the existing SAP environment while building and deploying S/4HANA.
For large UK enterprises, the transition can create temporary costs such as:
- dual environments;
- duplicated support effort;
- additional infrastructure;
- parallel testing;
- temporary interfaces;
- business backfill for project SMEs;
- training before go-live;
- extended hypercare;
- legacy-system support during phased rollout.
These costs can become material even when the final S/4HANA operating model is more efficient.
The business case should therefore model:
Current-State Operations + Transformation Run Costs + Target-State Operations
rather than comparing only:
Current-State Cost vs. S/4HANA Cost
Example
Suppose a business normally spends £4m per year operating SAP.
During a two-year transformation, it may additionally require:
£1.2m annual transformation and transition costs
while still paying most of the existing operating cost.
Those costs do not necessarily indicate that the programme is inefficient.
They are part of the economic reality of the transition.
How to Overcome It
Create a detailed transition cost curve showing:
- current operating cost;
- programme investment by year;
- temporary duplicated costs;
- expected benefits by phase;
- target-state run cost.
This makes cash requirements and payback much more realistic.
19. What Should a UK S/4HANA Business Case Include?
19. What Should a UK S/4HANA Business Case Include?
A board-ready business case should normally contain:
Executive Summary
- business problem;
- recommendation;
- investment;
- expected value;
- key risks;
- decision required.
Strategic Case
- business strategy;
- SAP roadmap;
- transformation drivers;
- maintenance considerations.
Current-State Assessment
- ERP landscape;
- costs;
- performance;
- technical debt;
- process issues.
Options Analysis
- stay;
- optimise;
- convert;
- reimplement.
Target State
- S/4HANA deployment model;
- architecture;
- business-process model;
- data;
- integrations;
- operating model.
Financial Case
- investment;
- TCO;
- benefits;
- ROI;
- NPV;
- payback;
- sensitivity analysis;
- transition cost curve.
Risk Case
- delivery;
- data;
- integration;
- adoption;
- operational continuity.
Implementation Roadmap
- assessment;
- preparation;
- migration;
- testing;
- cutover;
- stabilisation.
Benefits Realisation
- KPIs;
- owners;
- targets;
- reporting cadence.
20. A Practical S/4HANA Business Case Roadmap
20. A Practical S/4HANA Business Case Roadmap
A useful process is:
Assess → Quantify → Compare → Model → Validate → Approve → Measure
Assess
Understand the current SAP and business environment.
Quantify
Measure costs, inefficiencies, technical debt, and business impact.
Compare
Evaluate realistic alternatives.
Model
Build financial scenarios and benefits.
Validate
Test assumptions with finance, business, IT, SAP specialists, and implementation partners.
Approve
Present the investment case to the appropriate governance body.
Measure
Track benefits against the baseline after implementation.
What UK Businesses Should Do in 2026
What UK Businesses Should Do in 2026
For UK organisations still operating SAP ERP 6.0, the timing of business-case development should reflect the actual system release and maintenance position.
SAP's current strategy provides mainstream maintenance for EHP6–8 of SAP ERP 6.0 through 31 December 2027, followed by optional extended maintenance through 31 December 2030. SAP's S/4HANA innovation commitment runs through 2040.
For a UK enterprise, the practical sequence is:
Confirm the Current State
Document:
- SAP release;
- enhancement package;
- custom code;
- interfaces;
- data;
- operating costs.
Define the Future State
Establish:
- S/4HANA target;
- cloud strategy;
- business-process objectives;
- integration architecture;
- data strategy;
- Clean Core principles.
Build Three Scenarios
Compare:
Stay → Optimise → Transform
Quantify the Value
Establish:
- hard savings;
- efficiency;
- risk reduction;
- strategic benefits.
Calculate the Economics
Model:
- investment;
- TCO;
- ROI;
- payback;
- NPV;
- sensitivity;
- transition costs.
Establish the Roadmap
Connect the investment decision to:
- readiness;
- migration strategy;
- implementation;
- cutover;
- benefits realisation.
This creates a decision framework rather than simply an implementation budget.
Common S/4HANA Business Case Mistakes
Common S/4HANA Business Case Mistakes
Using SAP Product Benefits as the Business Case
“Real-time analytics”, “AI”, and “cloud” are capabilities.
They are not automatically business benefits.
Assuming ROI Without a Baseline
Without current-state data, projected savings are difficult to validate.
Ignoring the Cost of the Current System
Legacy support and technical debt are real costs.
Treating All Benefits as Hard Savings
Strategic benefits should be clearly distinguished from direct financial savings.
Ignoring the Cost of Change
Training, business participation, testing, and organisational change require real investment.
Ignoring Transition Costs
Dual running, backfill, temporary infrastructure, and hypercare can materially affect the financial model.
Comparing Only Two Options
A credible case should also consider optimising the existing SAP landscape where appropriate.
Using Generic Industry Benchmarks as Forecasts
Published customer results are not guarantees.
Stopping at Go-Live
Business value needs to be tracked after the system is operational.
Making the Business Case Only About Maintenance
Maintenance deadlines matter, but the investment should be connected to the organisation's broader strategy.
S/4HANA Business Case Checklist
S/4HANA Business Case Checklist
Before seeking final approval, confirm:
- Current SAP landscape documented
- Current operating costs measured
- Business-process baseline established
- Technical debt assessed
- Data quality assessed
- Integration landscape documented
- SAP maintenance position confirmed
- Target operating model defined
- Migration options compared
- Investment cost model completed
- Hard benefits quantified
- Strategic benefits documented
- Risk-adjusted scenarios modelled
- Cost-of-delay analysis completed
- Transition costs modelled
- TCO calculated
- ROI / NPV / payback assessed
- Benefits owners assigned
- KPIs and targets defined
- Implementation roadmap established
- Post-go-live value tracking defined
How LeverX Can Help Build the Business Case
How LeverX Can Help Build the Business Case
LeverX can support UK enterprises from the initial SAP assessment through S/4HANA strategy, migration planning, implementation, and ongoing optimisation.
Potential activities include:
- current-state SAP assessment;
- S/4HANA readiness analysis;
- business-case development;
- target architecture;
- migration strategy;
- process analysis;
- data and integration assessment;
- cost and TCO modelling;
- benefits and KPI definition;
- implementation planning;
- SAP S/4HANA transformation;
- post-go-live optimisation.
The objective is to create a business case grounded in the organisation's actual SAP landscape, costs, priorities, transition requirements, and transformation goals rather than relying on generic ERP assumptions.
Discuss Your SAP Transformation Business Case with LeverX
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need a business case for SAP S/4HANA migration?
Because an S/4HANA transformation requires significant investment and organisational change. The business case provides a structured way to evaluate strategic benefits, costs, risks, alternatives, and expected returns.
What should be included in an S/4HANA business case?
At minimum: current-state assessment, strategic objectives, migration options, target state, investment costs, benefits, TCO, financial analysis, risks, implementation roadmap, transition costs, and benefits-realisation KPIs.
How do I calculate the ROI of S/4HANA migration?
A basic formula is:
ROI = (Total Benefits − Total Investment) ÷ Total Investment × 100
For larger programmes, also consider NPV, payback period, IRR, TCO, and sensitivity analysis.
What benefits should I include?
Separate benefits into:
Cost Reduction + Operational Efficiency + Risk Reduction + Growth Enablement + Strategic Value
This prevents strategic benefits from being incorrectly presented as guaranteed financial savings.
How do I calculate the cost of staying on SAP ERP?
Include current infrastructure, support, maintenance, custom development, integrations, security, specialist resources, technical debt, and any applicable future maintenance costs.
For SAP ERP 6.0 EHP6–8, SAP currently states that mainstream maintenance ends on 31 December 2027, with optional extended maintenance through 31 December 2030.
Should I include SAP maintenance deadlines in the business case?
Yes, where they apply to the organisation's actual SAP release and commercial situation. However, maintenance should be treated as one business driver rather than the sole reason for transformation.
What is the cost of an S/4HANA migration?
There is no universal figure. Cost depends on the source system, migration approach, custom code, data, integrations, business-process scope, deployment model, testing, and organisational change.
Should transition and dual-running costs be included?
Yes. If the organisation will operate the existing environment while building or rolling out S/4HANA, the business case should include temporary support, infrastructure, project backfill, parallel testing, hypercare, and other transition costs.
How long does it take to see ROI from S/4HANA?
There is no universal payback period. It should be calculated from the organisation's actual investment, benefits, implementation timing, and ramp-up assumptions rather than using a generic benchmark.
Should strategic benefits be included in ROI?
They should be included in the overall business case, but not necessarily converted into artificial financial savings. Strategic benefits can be tracked using operational or business KPIs.
What alternatives should be compared with an S/4HANA migration?
At minimum:
Stay on Current SAP + Optimise Existing SAP + S/4HANA Transformation
Where realistic, also compare different S/4HANA transition approaches such as system conversion, selective data transition, and new implementation.
How should benefits be measured after go-live?
Each benefit should have an owner, baseline, target, measurement method, and target date. This turns the business case into a benefits-realisation framework rather than a document used only to obtain approval.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Building a business case for SAP S/4HANA migration is not about proving that S/4HANA has more capabilities than the current ERP.
It is about demonstrating that changing the ERP creates enough strategic, operational, financial, and risk-adjusted value to justify the investment.
For UK enterprises, the strongest business case combines:
Current-State Baseline + Cost of Staying + Future Business Requirements + Migration Options + Investment + Quantified Benefits + Transition Costs + Risk + Benefits Realisation
The maintenance timeline can create urgency for organisations still running relevant SAP ERP 6.0 releases, with mainstream maintenance for EHP6–8 ending on 31 December 2027 and optional extended maintenance available through 31 December 2030. But urgency should support the business case rather than replace it.
The strongest decision is not:
“We need S/4HANA.”
It is:
“We have compared the realistic alternatives, quantified the investment and value, modelled the transition, assessed the risks, and demonstrated why this transformation is the right choice for our business.”
That is the foundation for an S/4HANA programme that can secure executive approval and remain accountable for measurable business value after go-live.
Discuss Your SAP Transformation Business Case with LeverX
Disclaimer: SAP product capabilities, maintenance timelines, deployment options, licensing, migration approaches, and technical requirements may change by product edition, release, configuration, and customer scenario. Any financial models, ROI calculations, benefit assumptions, or business outcomes should be based on the organisation's own baseline and validated assumptions. This article provides general information and should not be treated as a financial, procurement, or migration recommendation.