It takes more than good ingredients to serve a nice meal ...

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a good, a very good or a bad restaurant? What does it take to run a very good restaurant? To deserve good marks from your audience or from the Gault Milllau.I would not dare to compare a small pizzeria (to avoid misunderstanding, they can serve delicious food) with a 3 Michelin Star restaurant à la Hof van Cleve. But still, within the same category/type of restaurants there seems to be a huge different in the “customer experience”. How come? The chefs basically have access to (or even use) the same “ingredients” and even then the result can be quite different. At least if we stay within the same type of restaurants I would dare to state that it is not the ingredients alone that determine the result. What makes the difference? Same or similar input, and still a different output or result. Is the chef the reason? Would the often miss-used statement “people are the most important asset” be the differentiator in the restaurant business? Is it the creativity of the chef, the experience of the kitchen personnel, the ability to “exploit” the potential of the ingredients, the unique combination of flavors, ….or is it something outside of the kitchen? What about the other elements of the experience, which have basically nothing to do with the quality or appreciation of the meal, but do influence or even determine the complete “experience” (like the atmosphere in the restaurant, the wine, the quality and friendliness of the service …)? I like to compare the “SAP experience” of quite some of our customers with a restaurant experience. Some enjoy a good experience, while for others it leaves a bitter taste. Although our customers (and partners) do mostly have access to the same software components, the results in an operational business environment can be quite different. Some SAP projects are very nice: the solution really pleases the users, the way the system set-up, the configuration; the customizing that has been done is great. The solution fits the business needs and makes company best run; the process run efficient, the system delivers valuable business insight and SAP supports the demand for flexibility, change and innovation over time.  Is it the “chef” with his personal experience, his ability to put the components together, and with his creativity to combine and compose the right solution that makes the difference? Let me answer this firmly with a YES. Just like in a restaurant, people can make the difference between a good, very good and a bad project. When customers ask me which partner to choose to support my implementation, I use the restaurant metaphore to stress that you can cook different meals with the same ingredients. If you put the best ingredients in the hand of a lousy cook, the result is not guarantied. If you want to gain a Michelin Star, you will need the best possible people in the kitchen. If you want a good SAP solution, you will need good consultants and integrators. Even in a take-away (pre-configured solution?), the people can make the difference. But just like in the restaurant business, the meal is not the only part of the experience. It is “necessary but not sufficient” to compose your company SAP solution using the right ingredients in the right proportion and combination. Beside the “meal”, the critical success factors, the elements which make your experience also relate to project governance and management support (lets say the maitre d’hotel), user acceptance and knowledge (like the restaurant atmosphere) , the integration and involvement/ownership of the business  … etc. I guess it is a challenge for SAP to make sure the ingredients are “fresh” and good quality; a challenge for the SAP integrator that the “meal” is rightly cooked; and for the customer and partner to make sure that it all contributes to a “delicious” experience. 

Enjoy your meal ;-)