When to Bring in a Functional vs. Technical SAP Consultant

SAP systems are often customized and complex, which is why many organizations bring on SAP consultants to help meet unique business or project needs – whether it be an SAP BTP solution architect to assist in building a custom BTP application, or an SAP change management lead to help ensure end-user adoption across an organization.  

To ensure an SAP project’s success, however, businesses must hire consultants accordingly, matching the talent to their specific needs at that specific time. Most often, this revolves around balancing functional vs. technical SAP consultants at different stages of your project.  

What is the Difference?

Functional SAP consultants focus on business processes, while technical SAP consultants focus on customizing and developing the SAP system. For businesses starting fresh with SAP, they will often utilize both types of consultants — functional consultants for help choosing the system and technical consultants for help implementing it.  

However, for more early-stage challenges with planning, businesses may only require a functional consultant, and for more back-end, system-related challenges, businesses may only require a technical consultant. For example, a functional consultant brought on to support the Head of Supply Chain may suggest SAP IBP or SAP EWM, depending on the company’s needs, and work on developing the project plan that the technical consultant will help then see through. 

Here’s how to best determine when to leverage a functional vs. technical SAP consultant: 

WHEN TO LEVERAGE A FUNCTIONAL VS. TECHNICAL SAP CONSULTANT

Needs Fulfilled by a Functional SAP Consultant

Functional SAP consultants are hired to help with the business processes. These types of consultants work in specific business areas, such as production planning or sales, helping clients find the best-fit solution for their company and needs, configuring the solution to their existing business processes, and supporting the change management process.  

Solution Selection

Functional consultants understand how to optimize different areas of an organization, such as finance or customer experience, using SAP solutions, and they use this understanding to suggest which solutions are needed to best solve specific business problems. For instance, if a retailer is experiencing difficulty tracking sales opportunities or providing personalized customer service, a functional consultant may suggest SAP Customer Relationship Management.  

Configuration

Functional consultants can also help with configuration, helping to arrange and set up the selected SAP solution to match their client’s business needs and goals. Unlike technical consultants who write the code for customization, functional consultants utilize the SAP systems’ built-in settings and tools for any customizations. They also work to define workflows and set parameters to ensure the system runs smoothly. 

Change Management

Change management is also an important aspect that functional consultants cover. They do so by helping to analyze the structure, processes, and culture an organization already has in place to determine the best strategy for transitioning to a new SAP solution. Functional consultants also offer training and support to help ensure employees know how to use the new system.  

Needs Fulfilled by a Technical SAP Consultant

On the other hand, technical SAP consultants focus on implementing, customizing, developing, and maintaining the SAP system. While functional consultants can help design the implementation plan for, it’s the technical consultants who work to carry out the implementation and ensure lasting success. 

Integration & Customization

Integration, which occurs as the SAP implementation begins, is a complex process that can present many challenges, and technical consultants can help address these challenges that businesses may fac. For instance, many businesses have trouble connecting SAP systems with their third-party applications, and technical consultants have the skills to leverage SAP BTP to enable this connection.  

Upgrades & Migration

Technical consultants also help with upgrades and migrations. As SAP continues to make the push towards SAP S/4HANA, for example, technical consultants are critical to managing the upgrade from ECC. This includes analyzing how the upgrade could impact the existing system and rewriting customized codes to allow for compatibility with S/4. They also have skills for data migration and can assist with transferring data from a client’s legacy system to the new system.  

Security & Compliance

Security and compliance are also areas covered by technical consultants. With cybersecurity skills, they can suggest pathways to protect a business’s data and assets, which is especially important for highly regulated industries like healthcare and finance. Through implementing security policies and managing user authentication, technical consultants can help these businesses meet regulatory compliance standards and protect sensitive data.  

Finding the Right Fit For Your Business

In order to find the right consultant for your business, you need to first define and establish your business needs. Functional SAP consultants can help solve issues related to business functions and processes, while technical SAP consultants can help with more specific issues related to how the SAP system is running. Furthermore, technical SAP consultants can be great to solve quick problems with already established SAP software, but for long-term projects, like choosing to implement new SAP software, businesses may want to bring in a functional SAP consultant as well.  

By understanding when to bring on a functional vs. technical SAP consultant, businesses can ensure that their operations run smoothly. If your business is gearing up for an SAP project and needs help finding an SAP consultant for the job, click here.  

Contributions from Natalie Pollock