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CASE 04GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATIONSSAP S/4HANA
Global UAT across sixteen countries — entirely virtually, through COVID-19.
A standardised SAP S/4HANA template needed validating across 16 countries just as the pandemic hit. This is how a structured testing strategy, honest resourcing and disciplined governance got it done — remotely.
DELIVERED
ENGAGEMENT
ERP Delivery Leadership — Global Business Readiness & UAT
PLATFORM
SAP S/4HANA — standardised global template
SCOPE
16 countries — Sales, Procurement, Finance & Supply Chain
OUR ROLE
ERP Delivery Lead — UAT strategy, governance and execution
01 — CLIENT CHALLENGE
A global telecommunications organisation was implementing a standardised SAP S/4HANA template across 16 countries as part of a wider finance and business transformation. The programme entered its critical User Testing phase in early 2020 — just as COVID-19 arrived.
KT Transformation Advisory was engaged to establish a robust global UAT strategy, provide delivery leadership and ensure the global solution could be validated despite unprecedented operating conditions.
EARLY 2020 — A CRITICAL PHASE
— Travel restrictions and enforced remote working— Constrained resource availability, competing priorities— Testing activities lacked a cohesive strategy— Rising risk to programme timelines and deployment readiness
02 — PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES
i.
Design the approach
A structured, global User Acceptance Testing approach — one framework for every country.
ii.
Establish ownership
Governance, ownership and accountability across all participating countries.
iii.
Maximise participation
Real business involvement despite severely limited resource availability.
iv.
Validate consistently
The S/4HANA global template proven across all core business processes.
v.
Enable deployment readiness
Programme quality and stakeholder confidence maintained all the way to go-live.
The overarching goal: implement the global ERP template with confidence, across multiple countries, despite the operational disruption of COVID-19.
03 — OUR APPROACH
1
Developing the global UAT strategy
Following an assessment of the existing programme, a comprehensive testing strategy gave every workstream and region one consistent framework:
GOVERNANCE & DECISION-MAKINGROLES & RESPONSIBILITIESENTRY & EXIT CRITERIAEXECUTION METHODOLOGYDEFECT MANAGEMENTPROGRESS REPORTINGBUSINESS SIGN-OFFREADINESS ASSESSMENTS
2
Building a scalable business resourcing model
The biggest constraint was business availability. Working with the Programme Sponsor (COO), senior executives and functional leadership, we assessed capacity country by country and built a resourcing model that balanced programme needs with day-to-day operations — with responsibility clearly allocated for:
— Test scenario and data ownership— Test case preparation— Test execution— Defect validation— Business review— Formal sign-off
Accountability improved significantly — and testing stayed achievable within real operational constraints.
3
Expanding delivery capacity
Internal resources alone would not be enough. An extended delivery model mobilised the client's Finance outsourcing partner as an extension of the testing team — supporting test case documentation, execution support and evidence collection.
The hybrid model substantially increased capacity — freeing business SMEs to focus on validating critical processes and decisions, not administration.
4
Coordinating global testing across 16 countries
The template covered a broad range of integrated processes. Working across time zones with fully virtual teams, programme governance kept execution, issue resolution and stakeholder communication consistent across four functional workstreams:
SALES MANAGEMENTPROCUREMENTFINANCESUPPLY CHAIN
5
Executive governance and programme leadership
Close collaboration with the Programme Sponsor (COO) and executive leadership throughout — executive reporting, programme governance, risk and issue management, testing progress monitoring and deployment readiness assessments.
Regular governance forums gave leadership clear visibility of programme health, testing progress and deployment risk.
6
Delivering UAT through COVID-19
Planning, coordination and execution ran entirely remotely. New virtual collaboration practices kept geographically dispersed teams engaged — without compromising governance or quality.
Testing extended by roughly two months to respect business constraints — a measured call that significantly reduced implementation risk and protected deployment quality.
04 — OUR ROLE
Engaged as ERP Delivery Lead for User Acceptance Testing — the primary link between executive sponsors, programme leadership, functional business teams and delivery partners.
— Global UAT strategy design— Governance and delivery methodology— Business resourcing model— Test coordination across 16 countries— Executive stakeholder management— Programme reporting— Risk, issue and defect governance— Business readiness planning— Deployment readiness assessments— Final business sign-off coordination
05 — OUTCOMES
Sixteen countries, one validated template.
✓Global UAT strategy designed and implemented across 16 countries
✓Consistent governance, testing standards and sign-off across all regions
✓Delivery capacity increased through the hybrid model with the Finance outsourcing partner
✓Virtual testing coordinated across Sales, Procurement, Finance and Supply Chain
✓Executive visibility improved through structured reporting and governance
✓The S/4HANA global template comprehensively validated before deployment
✓Global ERP template successfully implemented across all participating countries
06 — BUSINESS IMPACT
Large-scale ERP transformations succeed when business readiness gets the same attention as technology delivery.
A structured testing strategy, strengthened governance and an innovative resourcing model carried the programme through the operational challenges of the pandemic — with stakeholder confidence and delivery quality intact.
The result: a thoroughly validated global SAP S/4HANA template enabling consistent business processes, stronger user adoption and a scalable foundation for future global operations.