GreenField implementation of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition

Start on SAP's own best practices from day one — no legacy system to migrate, no legacy customizations to carry forward

Migration Paths — Greenfield, a Scheer IDS topic on SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition

A GreenField implementation means you start SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition on Industry Best Practices from day one, rather than reshaping an existing SAP or legacy ERP landscape. It gives you an Intelligent Enterprise: a system built for integrated processes, not just transactions, with data, collaboration, planning, and prediction connected from the outset.

Scheer's Fits-to-Standard approach drives the implementation. We map your required functionality against SAP's Industry Best Practices and the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition scope, then configure a working end-to-end process from Scope Items — pre-built process components SAP has already defined for your industry. The focus stays on end-to-end processes such as Order-to-Cash, Design-to-Operate, Source-to-Pay, Record-to-Report, and Hire-to-Retire, not on standing up isolated Finance, CRM, or Production modules.

Because there's no legacy system to reconcile, a Clean Core stays realistic from the start: you apply Industry Best Practices pragmatically, close to the SAP standard, which keeps management simple and maintenance costs low as your organization grows.

Create a phased path, not a big-bang project

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition includes ERP Variants — pre-configured functional starting points that give a GreenField project a working foundation from day one, rather than a blank canvas. You expand the scope step by step as the business is ready, rather than running a single large, all-or-nothing implementation.

Scheer packages this expertise by industry, with defined implementation packages for Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Professional Services, and Technical Services. Each package covers end-to-end specifications for Order-to-Cash, Source-to-Pay, Plan-to-Produce, and Record-to-Report, plus experience managing the alternative paths needed where standard processes don't fully fit, integrations with SAP Business Technology Platform, and support for testing, data management, and authorizations.

A phased rollout also changes how your organization adopts the system: employees start working with real functionality early, so they adopt new capabilities and ways of working faster than they would if they waited for a single go-live.

SAP Activate: the methodology behind the timeline

SAP Activate structures the GreenField implementation around three pillars: predefined Best Practices drawn from SAP's implementation experience, Guided Configuration that walks your team through setup step by step, and an agile, iterative methodology moving through Prepare, Explore, Realize, Deploy, and Run.

SAP updates Activate continuously — the shift to a two-to-three-system landscape and the introduction of the Development System both changed how GreenField projects are structured, and Scheer keeps its implementation approach aligned with SAP's current guidance rather than an outdated playbook.

A GreenField approach with Scheer as your implementation partner means Industry Best Practices, a phased scope, and a proven methodology work together from the first Discovery Assessment.

Start with GreenField Implementation

GreenField — Frequently Asked Questions

What makes an implementation "GreenField" instead of a migration?

A GreenField implementation builds SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition on SAP's Industry Best Practices from day one — there's no existing SAP or legacy ERP system to migrate data from or reconcile customizations against.

Do we lose functionality by starting from Industry Best Practices instead of our current setup?

No. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition's Industry Best Practices are built from proven end-to-end processes across Order-to-Cash, Source-to-Pay, Plan-to-Produce, and Record-to-Report. Scheer's Fits-to-Standard approach configures these Scope Items to your business, and any genuine gap is addressed through SAP Business Technology Platform rather than custom code in the core.

What is the Fits-to-Standard approach?

It's Scheer's method for mapping your required functionality against SAP's Industry Best Practices and the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition scope, then configuring a working end-to-end process built from Scope Items — pre-built process components SAP has already defined for your industry.

What are ERP Variants and why do they matter for a GreenField project?

ERP Variants are pre-configured functional starting points within SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. They give a GreenField implementation a working foundation from day one, so you're configuring and extending a functioning system rather than building one from a blank canvas.

Can we implement in phases instead of one big-bang project?

Yes. SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition is designed to expand step by step — you implement the functional scope your organization needs first, then extend it as the business is ready, rather than committing to a single, all-or-nothing go-live.

Does Scheer offer industry-specific implementation packages?

Yes. Scheer has defined implementation packages for Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Professional Services, and Technical Services, each covering end-to-end specifications for Order-to-Cash, Source-to-Pay, Plan-to-Produce, and Record-to-Report.

How do new technologies like AI, machine learning, and automation fit into a GreenField implementation?

SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, combined with SAP Business Technology Platform, gives you access to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Robotic Process Automation from the standard platform — capabilities available from the start of a GreenField project, not bolted on afterward.

What methodology does Scheer use to run the implementation?

SAP Activate — an agile, iterative methodology moving through Prepare, Explore, Realize, Deploy, and Run, combining SAP's predefined Best Practices with Guided Configuration for your implementation team.

How does Scheer keep the core "clean" if there's no legacy system to reconcile?

By applying Industry Best Practices pragmatically and staying close to the SAP standard from the outset — a Clean Core approach is easier to maintain in a GreenField project precisely because there's no legacy customization layer to carry forward.