Samira Huber | October 2026
Moving to SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud does not necessarily mean the end of bespoke business processes.
Instead, businesses need to decide which processes can be standardised and where extensions outside the ERP core remain a sensible option.
Established Structures Become a Challenge
In retail in particular, cloud standardisation often meets historically evolved ERP landscapes. Many businesses have adapted their systems over the years to reflect their own business models, organisational structures and processes. However, this level of customisation can make the transition to standardised cloud processes more difficult.
Samira Huber, CC Lead at retailsolutions, sees this as a key challenge in the transformation process:
“What was originally intended to map business processes as precisely as possible can become an obstacle when introducing new technologies or moving to the Public Cloud.”
This means that migration is not simply about transferring existing functions to a new system from a technical perspective. Businesses must also assess which processes are genuinely necessary and which have evolved over time and could potentially be simplified.
Standardisation Also Affects the Organisation
Technical migration is therefore only one part of the project. Aligning processes with the standardised workflows of the Public Cloud can also change existing working practices and responsibilities.
Change management is particularly important when dealing with highly customised ERP systems. Employees need to accept new processes and, in some cases, move away from long-established ways of working. According to Huber, organisational change must therefore be given the same consideration as technical implementation.
Extensions Remain Possible
Standardisation does not mean that businesses can no longer accommodate individual requirements. SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud offers several ways to extend the system within defined boundaries.
Configuration allows certain settings to be adjusted. Key-user extensibility enables additional fields or logic to be introduced at designated points in the system. Andreas Lückler, Consultant at retailsolutions, gives the example of additional reference fields in accounting documents that may be required for collaboration with suppliers.
For more extensive requirements, side-by-side extensibility is an option. In this approach, extensions are developed outside the ERP core and connected via interfaces. The SAP Business Technology Platform can provide the technical foundation for this.
As a result, custom functionality moves from the system core into complementary applications and extensions.
Clean Core Helps Simplify Updates
A key element of this approach is the Clean Core strategy. The ERP core remains as close to the standard as possible, while customer-specific functionality is implemented outside it.
This can be particularly beneficial when applying updates. New functions can be introduced without having to account for extensive custom modifications within the system core. The risk of customer-specific modifications being overwritten during a release upgrade is also reduced.
For businesses, this can also lower maintenance efforts. Huber sees this as an opportunity to implement modernisation initiatives that may previously have been postponed due to high project costs, a shortage of skilled professionals or complex dependencies.
However, developing an extension outside the core does not automatically make it a cost-effective solution. Additional applications and bespoke developments can create new dependencies and complexity. Businesses should therefore assess whether an extension is genuinely necessary before proceeding.
The Public Cloud Is Not Suitable for Every Process
Standardisation also has its limits. The decisive factor is how well existing business processes align with the functionality available in the Public Cloud.
If numerous business-critical requirements can only be met through extensive extensions, the business case may need to be reconsidered. In such cases, on-premise or private cloud models may remain viable alternatives due to their greater flexibility for customisation.
However, this flexibility generally comes with higher implementation costs and more complex maintenance. For businesses, the key question is therefore not whether individual processes can be accommodated, but which adaptations make sense in the long term from both a technical and an economic perspective.
Moving to a standardised ERP system is ultimately a process of selection: which processes should follow the standard, which require extensions, and which historically evolved structures could potentially be eliminated altogether?
Please note: This article is an English translation of the original German version. In case of any discrepancies, the German version shall prevail.
