Key Takeaways

  • GROW migrations have five distinct phases, each with specific commercial and licensing actions that must be completed before the next phase begins.
  • The pre-signature phase is the highest-leverage window: decisions made here determine the commercial trajectory of the next 5–7 years.
  • Clean core governance must be established in writing, with documented processes, before a single sprint of the Realise phase begins.
  • Post-go-live licence management is not optional — it is the foundation of your defence in SAP's first measurement cycle.
  • Renewal preparation begins 18 months before contract expiry, not when SAP sends the renewal proposal.

GROW with SAP migrations succeed commercially when the right actions are taken at the right time — before signatures are collected, before implementation partners are engaged, and before go-live makes certain decisions irreversible. This GROW with SAP migration checklist provides a structured action plan across five phases, focused specifically on the commercial and licensing decisions that SAP's methodology either omits or treats as SAP's advantage.

Independent advisory — not affiliated with SAP SE. For the strategic context behind this checklist, read the GROW migration complete guide. For the risks that make each of these actions necessary, see our GROW migration key risks analysis.

Phase 1: Pre-Signature Evaluation (Months -3 to 0)

Phase 1 Checklist

Pre-Signature Actions (Complete Before Signing)

  1. Engage independent licensing advisory. Appoint an independent GROW advisor with no SAP commercial ties before the BoM is finalised. This is the highest-ROI action in the entire migration process. Our RISE and GROW advisory service provides this function.
  2. Conduct independent BoM review. Line-by-line analysis of SAP's proposed Bill of Materials against your actual operational requirements. Remove or right-size every component that does not correspond to a specific, documented business need.
  3. Perform user type analysis. Map every proposed Named User to their actual process requirements. Classify users as Full User or Self-Service User based on what they will actually do — not what SAP's account team assumes. Document the reclassification rationale for every user.
  4. Commission independent BTP consumption model. Map your integration landscape and extension requirements to SAP's BTP service tiers. Establish the contracted BTP allocation that covers actual requirements with appropriate headroom — not SAP's standard bundled allocation.
  5. Map digital access exposure. Identify every integration that generates SAP documents — orders, deliveries, invoices, material documents — and map projected document volumes to SAP's digital access pricing model. Contract for the appropriate digital access allocation based on this analysis.
  6. Prepare competitive alternatives analysis. Document the alternatives to GROW that you have evaluated — including RISE with SAP Private Cloud Edition, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and other mid-market ERP options. This analysis is negotiation leverage, not just procurement due diligence. Read our GROW vs RISE comparison guide for the framework.
  7. Negotiate escalation caps. Include a maximum annual escalation cap (3% recommended) as a non-negotiable precondition for a multi-year commitment. Uncapped escalators at SAP's current price trajectory add 25–47% to the contract cost over 5 years.
  8. Negotiate auto-renewal terms. Extend the notice period for non-renewal to at least 12 months before contract expiry. Remove or restrict auto-renewal provisions that bind you to a further term without explicit consent.
  9. Negotiate exit and data portability clauses. Secure explicit data export SLAs, migration assistance obligations, and transition period licensing terms before signing. SAP's standard terms do not include these — they must be negotiated.
  10. Select implementation partner with clean core expertise. Evaluate GROW implementation partners specifically on their clean core governance practice, their GROW measurement cycle experience, and their demonstrated independence from SAP commercial pressure.

Phase 2: Implementation Governance (Months 0 to Go-Live)

Phase 2 Checklist

Implementation Governance Actions

  1. Establish clean core governance register. Create a formal register of all custom extensions before the first sprint of the Realise phase. Define the governance process: every extension must be reviewed against the clean core boundary before it is built, not after.
  2. Define BTP consumption monitoring. Implement BTP usage dashboards from the moment BTP services are activated. Establish monthly consumption reviews against the contracted allocation, with alerts when consumption approaches 70% of the allocation.
  3. Conduct integration architecture review. Review every planned third-party integration against the digital access document type model. Identify integrations that will generate high document volumes and ensure corresponding digital access licensing is in place.
  4. Establish user provisioning governance. Define the process for new user requests: every request must be reviewed against the remaining contracted Named User headroom before access is granted. Users provisioned above the contracted count create immediate compliance exposure.
  5. Run mid-implementation clean core scan. At the midpoint of the Realise phase, run SAP's ABAP Cloud readiness check against all extensions built to date. Identify and remediate any clean core violations before they are embedded in the go-live system.
  6. Validate user type assignments pre-go-live. 30 days before go-live, run a final review of all provisioned users against their contracted type. Correct any misclassifications before go-live triggers the measurement period.
  7. Conduct pre-go-live clean core certification. Require your implementation partner to provide written certification of clean core compliance for all custom extensions delivered as part of the project. This certification is your evidence in any future SAP measurement challenge.
  8. Document BTP consumption baseline. At go-live, document the BTP consumption level — services active, consumption rate, contracted allocation remaining. This baseline is the reference point for overage risk management throughout the contract term.

GROW Migration Implementation Oversight

Independent commercial oversight throughout your GROW implementation — clean core governance, BTP monitoring, user type validation.

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Phase 3: Post-Go-Live Compliance Management (Months 1–12)

Phase 3 Checklist

Post-Go-Live Compliance Actions

  1. Conduct Named User census (Day 1). On go-live day, generate a complete list of provisioned users, their contracted type, and their actual system access. This is your compliance baseline. Store it securely — it is your defence in SAP's first measurement cycle.
  2. Establish monthly licence compliance reporting. Implement monthly reporting covering: Named User count vs. contracted count; user type utilisation vs. contracted type allocation; BTP consumption vs. contracted allocation; digital access document volumes vs. contracted entitlement.
  3. Run quarterly user governance reviews. Review all provisioned users for inactivity, type correctness, and business justification. Deprovision inactive users. Reclassify users whose actual usage has changed since provisioning. Document every decision.
  4. Monitor integration-generated document volumes. Track digital access document volumes monthly for each integration that generates SAP documents. Compare trends against contracted digital access entitlement. Flag integrations where volumes are on a trajectory to exceed entitlement before contract expiry.
  5. Review clean core status quarterly. Run clean core compliance scans quarterly — before SAP does. Address any new violations identified during the quarter before they become measurement findings.
  6. Claim SAP Enterprise Support credits. Review your Enterprise Support credit entitlement quarterly. Actively claim credits for expert sessions, implementation support, and other entitled services. Track consumed vs. remaining credits. Raise unused credit roll-forward with SAP if credits are approaching expiry.

Phase 4: First Measurement Cycle Preparation (Month 10–18)

Phase 4 Checklist

Measurement Cycle Defence Actions

  1. Conduct independent pre-measurement review. 60 days before your anticipated first measurement cycle, commission an independent review of your licence position: Named User counts, type classifications, BTP consumption, digital access volumes, and clean core status. Address all findings before SAP initiates its measurement.
  2. Prepare measurement defence documentation. Compile the evidence package you will use to challenge any SAP measurement findings: go-live user census, quarterly governance records, clean core certifications, integration architecture documentation, and BTP consumption records.
  3. Review SAP's measurement methodology. Understand exactly how SAP will measure your GROW deployment: what data it collects, what it classifies, and where the measurement methodology creates room for challenge. Our guide on SAP system measurement covers this in detail.
  4. Engage independent measurement support. If SAP's initial measurement findings are materially different from your own assessment, engage independent measurement support before responding. Accepting SAP's findings without challenge is not required — and the initial finding is almost never the final settlement amount. Our SAP licence compliance service provides measurement defence support.

Phase 5: Renewal Preparation (Months 18 Before Expiry to Renewal)

Phase 5 Checklist

Renewal Preparation Actions

  1. Begin renewal preparation 18 months before expiry. Not when SAP sends the renewal proposal — before that. Renewal preparation takes time, and SAP's proposal will arrive with a deadline designed to limit your response time. Be ready before it arrives.
  2. Commission independent TCO analysis. Model the 5-year TCO of renewing GROW against the alternatives: RISE with SAP Private Cloud Edition, other ERP platforms, or a renegotiated GROW contract. This analysis is the foundation of your renewal negotiation position.
  3. Conduct user type and shelfware analysis. Identify all users who can be reclassified to a lower-cost type since go-live. Quantify BTP shelfware and add-on module shelfware. This analysis generates credit claims and renewal cost reduction arguments.
  4. Prepare competitive alternatives documentation. Update your competitive alternatives analysis for the renewal negotiation. SAP's account team must believe you have alternatives — and the evidence that you have evaluated them is the proof.
  5. Time renewal discussions to SAP's fiscal calendar. Target SAP's Q4 (July–September) or year-end for renewal signature. The discount authority available at these moments consistently exceeds what is available at other times of year.
  6. Negotiate renewal terms independently. Do not negotiate renewal through SAP's account team alone. Engage independent commercial advisory — specifically SAP contract negotiation support — to drive the renewal from a position of commercial strength. For cost reduction strategies, see our GROW cost reduction guide.

Frequently Asked Questions: GROW Migration Checklist

What is the single most important action in the GROW migration checklist?

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Engaging independent advisory before the BoM is finalised. Every other checklist item is easier, cheaper, and more effective when this is done first. Independent BoM review, user type analysis, and BTP right-sizing — all conducted before signature — consistently deliver 20–35% reduction in subscription cost. The investment in independent advisory is recovered in the first year of the resulting contract.

How long does each phase of the GROW migration checklist take?

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Phase 1 (pre-signature) typically requires 60–90 days of commercial and legal work. Phase 2 (implementation) runs 6–18 months depending on deployment complexity. Phase 3 (post-go-live compliance) is an ongoing management function, not a one-time activity. Phase 4 (measurement preparation) requires 60 days of preparation. Phase 5 (renewal) requires 18 months — most organisations start too late.

Can this checklist be applied to a GROW migration that has already been signed?

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Yes — starting from whichever phase is currently relevant. For post-signature but pre-go-live organisations, Phases 2 and 3 are immediately applicable. For live GROW deployments, Phase 3 and Phase 4 preparation are the priorities. Phase 1 items cannot be retroactively applied, but the lessons inform the renewal negotiation in Phase 5, where much of the commercial ground lost at signing can be recovered.

What resource does this checklist require internally?

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Effective execution of this checklist requires: a designated commercial/licensing lead with decision-making authority; involvement from IT/architecture (for clean core and BTP governance); procurement/legal input (for contract negotiation); and senior leadership sponsorship (for renewal decisions). Independent external advisory supplements internal resources specifically on the SAP-specific knowledge requirements — licence type definitions, measurement methodology, negotiation benchmarks — that internal teams typically lack.