ERP Implementation Consulting

ERP implementation consulting describes the partner firms that actually configure, customise, train and operate an ERP product on behalf of the buyer. Unlike independent selection advisors, implementation partners are aligned with a specific product family — an SAP partner implements SAP, a Microsoft Dynamics partner implements Business Central. That alignment is legitimate and necessary, because deep product expertise is essential for a successful rollout. Industry data consistently shows that the largest share of ERP project failures originates not in the technology itself but in the partner relationship: incomplete requirements, weak project governance, under-staffed change management and inadequate user training. Choosing the right implementation partner is therefore a more consequential decision than choosing the product.

What implementation partners do

A typical implementation engagement covers process workshops, system configuration, customisation through standard extensibility frameworks, data migration, integration with adjacent systems (e-commerce, WMS, DATEV, EDI), end-user training and a hypercare period after go-live. Larger partners maintain dedicated industry units — discrete manufacturing, process industry, wholesale, project services — with pre-built templates that shorten the configuration phase. The mature DACH partner ecosystem includes large multi-product houses such as NTT DATA Business Solutions, All for One Group and Cosmo Consult, as well as many mid-size and boutique firms with deeper sector specialisation.

Quality criteria for partners

Useful criteria for evaluating an implementation partner: certifications from the relevant ERP vendor (SAP Gold, Microsoft Inner Circle, NetSuite SDN Premier and so on), staff tenure and bench depth in the customer's industry, recent reference customers of comparable size, and a clear project methodology with named phases. Equally important but harder to evaluate: the partner's actual ability to challenge customer requirements when they are unrealistic, and willingness to recommend standard configuration over custom development. Partners who agree to every customisation request without pushback often produce projects that are technically successful but operationally fragile.

Contract models and costs

Three commercial models dominate: fixed-price for defined scope (most common for smaller, well-bounded projects), time-and-materials for larger or more uncertain efforts, and target-price with shared risk for mature partner relationships. Day rates in DACH range roughly from 1,200 euro for junior consultants to 1,800 euro for senior architects, with specialist roles such as integration architects or industry leads at the upper end. Realistic implementation costs scale with users and industry complexity: a 150-user mid-market implementation typically lands between 600,000 euro and 1.5 million euro all-in, including licences for the first year.

Change management and training

Adoption is where most ERP projects underperform their business case. A partner's ability to design and deliver change management — identifying key users, mapping process changes to job roles, running role-based training and supporting the first quarter of live operation — matters as much as their configuration skills. Buyers should explicitly ask for the change-management staffing plan as a separate line item in the proposal rather than accepting it as a thin slice of overall project management. Investment of five to ten per cent of total project cost into structured change management is normal for well-run engagements.

The DACH partner landscape

The German-speaking implementation market is segmented by ERP product family. For SAP, the largest pure-play partners are All for One Group, NTT DATA Business Solutions and msg-systems entities, complemented by FIS-GmbH for wholesale and SAP S/4HANA, sovanta for SAP Fiori and UX projects, and Westernacher Solutions for industry-specialised SAP work. For Microsoft Dynamics 365, Cosmo Consult is among the largest DACH partners alongside several regional Inner Circle members. Beyond the two dominant ecosystems, mid-market customers also evaluate partners for Sage, Infor, IFS, Odoo and a number of Mid-Market-rooted German ERPs whose vendor distribution networks tend to be smaller and more regional.

Typical client profile and industries

Most DACH implementation partners specialise both by ERP product and by industry. The clearest sector segmentation is between discrete manufacturing (machine builders, automotive suppliers, electronics), process industry (food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals), project-based services (engineering, professional services) and wholesale trading. Partners that publish industry templates aligned with the customer's actual processes typically deliver projects faster than generalist partners working from a blank slate. Company-size focus also matters: a partner whose typical engagement is a 2,000-seat S/4HANA programme is unlikely to be a good fit for a 60-seat Business Central rollout, regardless of certification status. Buyers should ask, for the named delivery team specifically, how many comparable-size projects they have delivered in the same industry in the last 24 months.

Related Topics

• ERP selection advisors
• ERP training providers
• All for One Group (SAP)
• NTT DATA Business Solutions (SAP)
• Cosmo Consult (Microsoft Dynamics)