I have had the pleasure of working within the consumer products industry for over 25 years and one of the things I learned early on in my career is that executives don’t implement massive ERP systems, such as SAP, simply because they want to. These projects require massive investments in time, resources and dollars and, if not properly planned and executed, could have a negative impact on the business. There are many planning steps required ahead of time to recognized the SAP benefits eventually after implementation. Executives decide to embark upon these transformational initiatives because, at the core, there is business benefit they are trying to unlock.

At the highest levels, organizations are looking to drive a standard way of working throughout the business through the harmonization around a single system, or achieve a greater level of transparency through streamlined financial analysis and reporting. However, if you look specifically at the consumer products, retail, or life sciences industries, there is more tangible business value that companies are looking to unlock. And these goals are even more paramount in light of the challenges this past year and the acceleration of many of the trends we had been anticipating.

All of this said, I am excited to welcome Sham Karim and Anand Nataraj to Taking Stock. Sham and Anand lead our SAP practice at Clarkston and will share their perspectives as to how companies are looking at SAP to improve their ability to serve their customer more effectively with SAP benefits, speed up their go-to-market capabilities and provide a more seamless experience for their end users.

You can download and listen to the SAP Benefits: Taking Stock with Sham Karim and Anand Nataraj podcast episode here.

Taking Stock

In this podcast series, Clarkston Consulting Partner Steve Rosenstock sits down with experts and thought leaders from both within Clarkston and throughout its consumer products and life sciences client-base, covering a range of topics from industry trends and consumer dynamics, to organizational governance and business strategy. Steve provides you access into the passions of its guests and allows you to benefit from their stories, knowledge, and deep expertise.

Podcast production by Zach McClughen