Managing the SAP Relationship: Keeping Your Vendor Accountable

Managing the SAP Relationship

Introduction: Winning the negotiation with SAP is only half the battle. Once the ink is dry on your contract, the real work of managing the vendor relationship begins. SAP is a major vendor, and without structured oversight, it may drift from its promises or introduce new costs.

Procurement leaders need to stay strategic and skeptical – treating SAP like any other supplier by enforcing transparency, accountability, and continuous performance checks.

In short, you must actively manage the SAP relationship to protect the value you negotiated and avoid vendor-driven surprises or pressure tactics. Read our complete guide, SAP Procurement & Vendor Management Strategies.

This guide offers procurement-focused tips to help transform SAP from a “one-and-done” vendor into a long-term partner that consistently delivers on its commitments while maintaining leverage.

1. Know Your SAP Account Structure

The first step in managing your SAP vendor is knowing exactly who you’re dealing with on their side. Identify SAP’s key account contacts and clarify each person’s role and responsibilities.

Typically, you will have an Account Executive (AE) – the primary salesperson for your account – and a Customer Success Manager (CSM) focused on your post-sales success.

There may also be a technical lead or solution architect assigned for product support or implementation advice. Ensure you are familiar with who these individuals are and how to contact them.

Next, establish who owns which commitments. For example, if a promised service isn’t delivered, will the AE or the CSM take ownership? Define who to contact for different issues (e.g., sales vs. technical) and establish an escalation path now (more on escalation in Section 3).

Establish a rapport with the SAP team while maintaining a professional demeanor. Remember that, as friendly as your SAP reps may be, their ultimate goal is to advance SAP’s interests.

Maintain cordial and cooperative interactions that are firmly rooted in your objectives. Don’t let a personable account exec blur lines or sway you with sales spin.

Checklist – SAP Account Awareness
☐ Account Executive identified
☐ Customer Success Manager mapped
☐ Technical contact/lead documented
☐ Escalation contacts and paths noted

2. Regular Business Reviews (QBRs & ABRs)

Don’t treat your SAP contract as “sign and done.” Regular business reviews are crucial to maintaining SAP’s accountability throughout the life of the agreement. Schedule structured check-in meetings, such as Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and Annual Business Reviews (ABRs), with SAP.

It’s often up to you to initiate these – schedule them proactively so SAP comes prepared. These meetings let you scrutinize how well SAP is delivering against your expectations and the contract.

Come prepared with a formal agenda and data. Cover key topics such as license usage and compliance (to ensure you’re not unintentionally overusing licenses), support performance (review open tickets, response times, and any SLA breaches), and product roadmap updates (hear about upcoming changes that could affect you).

For each discussion point, note any action items or promises SAP makes. Always document any new commitments in writing after the meeting – for example, send a follow-up email that lists what SAP agreed to do and the associated deadlines. This creates a paper trail and holds them to their word.

Be aware that SAP might use these sessions to pitch new offerings under the guise of “value” discussions. Listen briefly, but keep the meeting focused on SAP’s performance and the value it delivers to you.

If SAP introduces a new product or service, acknowledge it and defer discussion of that topic to a separate meeting at a later time.

Maintain your skeptical procurement lens – the priority in a QBR is holding SAP accountable, not giving them a free sales opportunity.

Example QBR Agenda:

3. Escalation Framework

Even with regular reviews and a solid account team, issues will arise. When SAP fails to deliver on a promise or a serious problem is dragging on, don’t wait – escalate early.

If a critical deliverable is missed or a support case stalls without progress, promptly kick it up the chain. Escalation signals that an issue needs urgent higher-level attention.

Define your escalation ladder in advance. For example, suppose the Account Executive is unable to resolve an issue quickly. In that case, the next step might be to involve SAP’s regional manager or director, and after that, an Executive Sponsor (a senior SAP executive assigned to your account).

Have these contacts ready so you can involve them at a moment’s notice when needed. This way, when you escalate, you can immediately include the right people and apply pressure on SAP.

When you escalate, stick to the facts and emphasize the business impact. Explain what was expected, what hasn’t happened, and why it matters (e.g., “Project go-live is delayed, costing $X per day”). This impact-driven approach compels SAP to take the issue seriously.

Also, keep an internal escalation log – a simple list of major issues, including when you escalated them and the outcome. This log helps you track patterns and serves as evidence in future negotiations.

When it’s time to renew, you can say, “We had to escalate five issues last year to get results – we expect better baseline service or concessions going forward,” and you’ll have the details to back it up.

Checklist – Escalation Prep
☐ Escalation ladder (AE → Director → Exec Sponsor) defined
☐ Contacts for escalation points available and up-to-date
☐ Escalation log maintained for major issues

What is procurement’s role in SAP license management? – Beyond Negotiations: Procurement’s Role in Ongoing SAP License Management

4. Stay Proactive on Roadmap & Strategy

SAP frequently shifts its product strategy and licensing models – for example, pushing customers toward S/4HANA or new cloud offerings, such as RISE with SAP. Such changes can directly impact your plans and budget.

To avoid being caught off guard by an abrupt announcement (like a new licensing rule or an end-of-support date), stay proactive about SAP’s roadmap.

Arrange regular roadmap briefings with your SAP team. Each quarter, inquire about upcoming product releases or licensing changes that may impact you. Pose direct questions – for instance, are any new license metrics on the horizon? Is support ending for any product you rely on? By getting this information early, you can prepare rather than react under pressure.

Maintain an internal list of potential vendor-induced changes and plan how you’d handle them. For any potential change – such as SAP rolling out a new licensing model or deciding to sunset a product – outline your response strategy.

That might include budgeting for an upgrade, exploring third-party support or alternative solutions, or negotiating contract protections. The goal is to be ready for SAP-driven shifts instead of scrambling at the last minute.

Decision Criteria – Roadmap Readiness (questions to ask about upcoming changes):

• Will the change require additional budget or resources on our side?
• Are there alternatives to what SAP is proposing (e.g., delaying an upgrade or using third-party support)?
• Can we negotiate flexibility or protections from SAP (such as price locks or extended support) in light of this change?

Read our procurement checklist, Procurement Checklist: Legal & Compliance Must-Haves in SAP Contracts.

5. Strategic Alignment & Executive Sponsorship

If you’re a large or strategic customer, SAP may assign an executive sponsor to your account. This is a high-level SAP executive who periodically checks in with your leadership. Use this channel to elevate your agenda.

In executive-to-executive discussions, reinforce your key priorities – whether it’s cost control, license compliance, or innovation. An executive sponsor can often mobilize resources or approvals within SAP that your day-to-day contacts may not have access to.

However, remember that strategic alignment is a two-way street. SAP will likely seek to deepen the relationship (often to sell more or gain a public reference). It’s fine to engage at the executive level, but be cautious about giving SAP undue influence or free marketing.

For example, SAP might ask your company to serve as a positive reference or speak at an event. Don’t agree to be a reference or case study unless you receive something tangible in return, such as better pricing or extra support.

Leverage your executive relationship to get issues addressed and push for your objectives, while maintaining a healthy skepticism. Your goal isn’t to please SAP’s executives – it’s to ensure SAP stays accountable to your business.

6. Vendor Scorecards & Performance Tracking

To continuously measure SAP’s value, implement a vendor performance scorecard for your SAP relationship. From day one, define key performance indicators and track them.

These might include technical metrics such as system uptime versus SLA, support responsiveness (e.g., average resolution time for critical tickets), and any value-added services SAP has committed to (such as a certain number of training sessions provided).

Also track commercial aspects: if SAP promised cloud credits, workshops, or consulting support in the contract, log what you actually receive against those promises.

Update the scorecard regularly (e.g., quarterly) and use it during your QBRs or internal reviews. Highlight where SAP is meeting expectations and where they aren’t. Maintaining this factual record eliminates guesswork and ensures that nothing gets overlooked.

It also preserves institutional memory, in case SAP changes your account manager – the new representative can immediately see the history of performance. Most importantly, an up-to-date scorecard is a leverage for future negotiations.

If the data shows that SAP underperformed in certain areas, you can request remedies or better terms.

For example, if uptime falls short of the SLA or you don’t receive the full amount of agreed-upon services, you have justification to request credits or discounts.

A simple scorecard might look like this:

In this example, the ❌ and ⚠ icons clearly indicate where SAP’s performance fell short. When SAP sees you tracking their obligations with data, it puts pressure on them to address issues. And if they don’t improve, you have solid evidence to negotiate adjustments.

7. Actionable Procurement Steps

To wrap up, here are some actionable steps and mindsets for keeping the SAP vendor relationship under control and value-driven:

• Treat SAP like any other supplier: Apply the same strict governance to SAP as you would to any vendor. Schedule the required meetings, enforce your SLAs and contract terms, and expect the same professionalism – no special exceptions just because they’re SAP.
• Require transparency and written commitments: Insist on clear documentation for everything SAP promises. Get all commitments in writing (through contract clauses or email confirmations), and demand visibility into key aspects such as usage data and product roadmaps, to ensure there are no hidden surprises.
• Focus on measurable outcomes: Tie SAP’s obligations to specific, measurable results. Define clear metrics or deliverables for each promise (e.g., “100 hours of migration support” instead of a vague “help with migration”) so you can later verify that SAP delivered.
• Leverage your data in negotiations: Use your documented history as leverage at renewal time. Bring up notes from QBRs, your escalation log, and scorecard metrics to justify requests for better terms or to address recurring issues – a fact-based negotiation puts you in a stronger position.

End-of-Section Checklist – Vendor Management Readiness
☐ SAP account team roles and contacts fully documented
☐ Quarterly and annual business review meetings scheduled
☐ Escalation path defined and contact list available
☐ Process in place to monitor SAP’s roadmap and licensing changes
☐ Vendor performance scorecard implemented and being updated

By following this framework, procurement leaders can confidently manage the SAP relationship beyond just the contract negotiation.

The payoff is a vendor that consistently delivers on its promises, fewer unpleasant surprises, and stronger leverage when you next sit down at the negotiation table.

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