Clarkston’s team of SAP consultants have highlighted the top SAP trends that businesses should consider. Read all 5 trends for 2024 by downloading the full report here.

Businesses across the life sciences, consumer products, and retail industries are continuously adapting to a transforming digital landscape, investing in tools and systems that can help them succeed. One of the enterprise systems they’re investing in to keep pace with that digital transformation and drive business value is SAP. 

SAP offers solutions that enable companies to stay ahead of the competition, drive growth, and ultimately meet the needs of their customers. In this report, our SAP experts explore the key trends shaping the SAP ecosystem in 2024 and beyond – including a growing interest in and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) offerings, various S/4HANA upgrade tools, and the increased use of cloud automation.  

2024 SAP Trends

Trend #1: SAP Business AI

Clarkston has witnessed an explosion of interest in generative AI over the past year and a half. Trade journals, prospect inquiries, and SAP clients all have questions and a piqued interest in AI. The potential is rippling across multiple industries.  

• Life Sciences: AI integration in the commercial pipeline can create smarter, more intelligent forecasts.  AI is also being looked at for research and development (R&D) purposes, such as for accelerating the new drug discovery process. 
• Consumer Products: Businesses are turning to AI to enhance consumer engagement, leveraging available data pools of customers’ real-time reactions to products and services.  
• Retail: Retailers are experimenting with AI to improve the personalized shopping experience, tapping into available information and their own internal data from past promotions and marketing. With this insight, they can now better determine what products to place in one location or region versus another – this also enables more opportunities for personalized promotions and marketing. 

SAP is now doubling down in this area and promising to deliver AI in all aspects of its solution landscape. The offering in this area comes under the umbrella called SAP Business AI. The approach is to provide AI capabilities in the context of the business processes (such as direct procurement) in real-time (when and where you need it) across core business functions. These capabilities and solutions range from classic AI (predictive) and automation capabilities to generative AI with natural language processing. We’ve summarized these capabilities in our 2024 report.

Download the Full 2024 SAP Trends Report Here

Trend #2: Planning for the Upgrade to S/4HANA

The 2027 date for SAP ending ECC support is fast approaching, so it’s important for companies to plan and start executing on their ECC to S/4 upgrades now. While the 2027 support end date for ECC is a significant factor, upgrading to S/4HANA offers advantages beyond avoiding technical obsolescence. 

In today’s business climate, companies need agility and flexibility to adapt to changing business models. S/4HANA delivers these capabilities by supporting enhanced real-time insights and promoting an openness to innovation. S/4HANA’s in-memory computing delivers real-time data analysis, providing a clear view of operations and enabling faster, data-driven decision-making, which is crucial in a rapidly changing market where responsiveness is key. Additionally, S/4HANA’s modern architecture facilitates integration with cutting-edge technologies like AI and machine learning – tools that can further optimize your operations and unlock new avenues for growth. 

Are you still running SAP ECC and need a place to start? SAP offers the RISE with SAP Migration and Modernization Program. This program provides valuable resources, including a roadmap for your S/4HANA journey, a migration methodology, and potential cost incentives. Working with a trusted SAP partner can also be beneficial, helping to guide you through the upgrade and transition. Continue reading by downloading the full report below.

Download the Full 2024 SAP Trends Report Here

Contributions by Sean Wheatley