Technology is only half the transformation. The real challenge? Getting people to change.
SAP projects are among the most resource-intensive, strategic initiatives an enterprise will undertake. They touch every department, reshape daily workflows, and require teams to rethink how they operate. But time and again, companies invest millions into technology and overlook the one factor that determines whether it all works: people.
When SAP projects fail, it’s rarely because the system didn’t function. It’s because the change didn’t stick.
Too many organizations bring in change management only after UAT starts — or worse, just before go-live. By then, resistance is already entrenched, and adoption becomes reactive damage control.
Change planning should start when system design starts. Why? Because the biggest resistance isn’t to the system — it’s to what the system changes.
"We’ve always done it this way.”
“Why can’t we just keep the old process?”
“This slows me down.”
These objections aren’t technical — they’re emotional, political, and practical. And unless they’re addressed early, even a perfectly configured SAP system can become shelf-ware.
Change management is not a 2-day training course or a PDF user guide. That’s education. Real change is behavioral — it’s getting people to use the system as intended, consistently, without shortcuts or workarounds.
💡 Change doesn’t happen when users learn. It happens when they believe.
That requires:
Training supports change — but it doesn’t drive it. That’s the job of a full change strategy.
Many SAP projects default to change communication through email blasts, SharePoint pages, or management briefings. But real change doesn’t happen in your inbox.
People change when:
A strong change program builds networks of influence — from local champions to department heads — and uses them to cascade messaging, address skepticism, and rally teams from within.
This turns resistance into ownership.
Don’t just track defect rates or system performance. Also track:
If you can’t measure change, you can’t manage it.
Think beyond email:
Frequency + clarity = confidence.
Training tells people what to do. Coaching helps them actually do it.
Build in:
At Jalur Consulting, we treat change as part of delivery — not a separate function. Our bilingual change leads work with client teams across Asia Pacific (especially Japan, Indonesia, and Australia) to:
Because change isn’t about slides and slogans. It’s about helping people cross the bridge from old to new, confidently and completely.
You don’t get ROI from SAP unless people use it properly. And people won’t use it unless the change is managed well. It’s that simple.
Technology can enable transformation but only change management makes it real. And that’s what most teams get wrong.
📩 Need help planning the human side of your SAP transformation?
Let’s talk. Jalur’s experienced change management advisors, trainers, and bilingual consultants are here to support.
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