Change management in the energy industry

The introduction of SAP S/4HANA is often seen as a purely technical project - but the real success factor lies in the people. Energy suppliers in particular face special challenges due to regulatory requirements, complex IT structures, and operational pressure.

The introduction of SAP S/4HANA is often seen as a technical transformation project. However, anyone responsible for such a project or involved in the specialist departments knows that it is about much more than just new software. SAP S/4HANA is a strategic lever that promises integrated IT landscapes, streamlined processes, real-time capability, and a new quality of control.

What often appears to be a logical and sensible target architecture in PowerPoint slides is a different world in the reality of many energy suppliers: historically evolved structures, individual in-house developments, a web of interfaces, regulatory requirements, and day-to-day business that leaves little room for error. In short, the initial situation is complex, and the objective is ambitious. And this is where the real challenge lies.

When we talk to project managers, CIOs, or department heads, a recurring pattern emerges: the initial euphoria is high, the business case is convincing, and the project planning is in place. But the further the project progresses, the clearer the points of friction become:

• Departments are unsure what role they should play
• Communication is too technical or too late
• Training is too close to the go-live or too abstract
• The company suffers from parallel loads
• Resistors are detected and personalized too late

As an IT service provider for the energy and utility industry, we have repeatedly observed that it is not the technology that causes projects to collapse. It is a lack of clarity, excessive demands, and inadequate support for organizational change.

Municipal utilities and energy suppliers in particular are under double pressure:

1. Regulatory context: MaKo, redispatch, data protection, ISO certifications, market communication 2026, etc.
2. Market changes: Decentralized energy worlds, new business models, customer portals, digital transformation, etc.
3. System landscapes: Different release statuses, high customization rates, insufficient documentation
4. Organization: Departments with extensive day-to-day business, shortage of specialists, low change resilience

Implementing SAP S/4HANA does not occur in a vacuum - but in the middle of highly complex everyday operations.

A project manager at a regional supplier recalls: "We had planned everything well: Project profile, milestones, test concepts. But as soon as we went into implementation, questions arose: What does this mean for my role? Why is this being introduced at all? Who will explain it to my colleagues in customer service?"

The error? The change was planned as a separate workstream, not part of the project framework. Communication was too late, training too general. The result: frustration, delays, and a jeopardized go-live.

Our IT specialist team for the energy and utilities industry believes that successful transformation can only be achieved if change management is structured, continuous, and firmly anchored. That's why we rely on an integrative model that combines project management, communication, participation, and empowerment.

Our change architecture is based on four supporting pillars:

1. Stakeholder management & change diagnostics

• Identification of affected target groups
• Analysis of affectedness (depth effect, emotionality, influence)
• Change Impact Assessments
• Determination of targeted measures

2. Change cockpit & control

• Central visualization of the change progress
• Link with SAP Activate & milestone planning
• Use of prosci models, integration into existing OCM tools (OCM cockpit, SAP ALM, etc.) if necessary
• KPI-based effectiveness measurement (Awareness, Participation, Readiness)

3. Communication architecture & cultural compatibility

• Development of a big picture with a vision workshop
• Communication formats:
  • Project kiosk digital/internal
  • Info snacks for teams (e.g., "1 topic in 5 minutes")
  • Management talks, Q&A rounds, video messages
• Messaging along the corporate culture and language
• Support from a change team

4. Enablement & training

• Target group-oriented role training
• Change briefings for multiple persons
• Testing workshops with a focus on acceptance
• Interactive e-learnings
• Agile learning formats (micro learning, on-the-job)

How you migrate to SAP S/4HANA directly influences the requirements for communication and change:

• Brownfield: Technical changeover, high expectation of stability, little rethinking. Danger: legacy issues remain. Change approach: "Continuity despite change".
• Greenfield: New start with process design, higher change impact, higher training requirements. Change approach: "Designing a new beginning".
• Bluefield: Selective data migration, best-of-both-worlds. Change approach: "Making selective change visible".

The migration strategy influences not only the data model, but also the cultural work of the project.

Our experience from numerous migration projects shows that successful change management does not come from PowerPoint, but from project experience, industry knowledge, and continuous interaction.

We bring:

• In-depth understanding of processes from the energy industry (e.g. GPKE, GeLi, MaBiS, WiM)
• Experience in the transformation from SAP IS-U to SAP S/4HANA Utilities
• Competencies in data protection, market communication, customer service processes
• Project management experience in agile and classic projects
• Methodological knowledge: Prosci, ADKAR, SAP Activate, Design Thinking