SAP License Optimization Case Study – Dutch Logistics Firm Saves €1.1M Annually
Background
A Netherlands-based logistics and transportation company, operating across Europe with a workforce of 8,000, was running a broad SAP environment to manage warehousing, freight, and finance.
Over the years, the company’s SAP user base had grown in a decentralized way. Each department would request new user licenses as needed, and old accounts often lingered even after employees left or roles changed.
The company realized that its SAP license inventory might be bloated and costing more than necessary.
With rising IT costs and an upcoming budgeting cycle, the CIO sponsored a proactive SAP license optimization initiative to identify savings without impairing operations.
Challenges
In analyzing their SAP licenses, the company found:
- Excess High-Tier Users: Many employees were assigned expensive Professional User licenses even if they used SAP for very limited tasks (like basic data entry or reporting). This misclassification meant paying top dollar for users who could be on a lower-cost license type.
- Inactive and Duplicate Accounts: Hundreds of SAP accounts belonged to former employees or contractors who were no longer with the company. Additionally, some users had multiple accounts (e.g., one for production, one for testing), all counted against license totals. These inflated the license count unnecessarily.
- Limited Insight: The internal IT asset management team lacked sophisticated tools to analyze usage patterns deeply. They relied on SAP’s basic audit reports, which didn’t easily show which licenses could be downgraded or eliminated. Without clear data, making a case to adjust licenses (especially to SAP) was difficult.
- Maintenance Cost Impact: Every unused or misassigned license wasn’t just a one-time cost – it carried an annual maintenance fee (~20% of license price). The company was essentially paying recurring fees for value it wasn’t receiving, draining the IT budget.
Solution (How SAP Licensing Experts Helped)
- Comprehensive License Audit: SAP Licensing Experts conducted a detailed usage audit using advanced analytics tools. They evaluated each user’s actual transactions and activities in SAP. This revealed, for example, that out of 3,000 named users classified as Professional, roughly 1,000 barely used SAP beyond querying reports or simple approvals – activities suitable for a lower license tier.
- Reclassification Plan: The team designed a reclassification strategy to right-size user licenses. They identified which users could be downgraded to Limited Professional or Employee Self-Service licenses. They also pinpointed licenses tied to inactive accounts that could be reclaimed entirely. A plan was formed to reassign or eliminate these licenses in SAP’s records.
- SAP Engagement: The experts coordinated with SAP on the proposed changes to ensure compliance. They prepared evidence-based reports to show SAP which licenses were unused or could be downgraded according to the contract terms. By engaging SAP early and transparently, they gained buy-in for the optimization (avoiding any perception of non-compliance). They negotiated an agreement where SAP acknowledged the reductions and provided formal approval to remove those licenses from the maintenance count.
- Maintenance Reduction: Following the cleanup, SAP Licensing Experts addressed the support fees. They negotiated with SAP to reduce the annual maintenance accordingly, since the total number of paid licenses was dropping. Initially, SAP was reluctant (as maintenance reductions directly hit revenue). Still, by highlighting the long-term partnership and potential for future projects, the team secured a maintenance credit that effectively cut the yearly support costs by the same proportion as the license reduction.
- Process Implementation: Beyond the one-time fix, the experts helped the logistics firm implement ongoing governance. They set up quarterly license usage reviews and an internal policy that any new SAP user assignment must be checked against actual role needs. This would prevent license creep from recurring, sustaining the savings.
Outcome and Savings
Through this optimization initiative, the Dutch logistics company slashed its SAP licensing costs significantly. The immediate result was about €1.1 million in annual savings on SAP support and license overhead.
This was achieved by retiring or downgrading roughly 1,200 license assignments, which the company no longer needed to pay maintenance on.
The savings went straight to the bottom line of the IT budget, allowing reallocation of funds to other digital projects.
Moreover, the company’s SAP environment became cleaner and more audit-ready – a hidden benefit should SAP perform a license audit in the future.
The CIO and finance department lauded the project as one of the easiest cost-saving wins in recent years, as it required no new technology investment, only smarter management of what they already had.
This case highlights how methodical SAP license management and negotiation can yield substantial dividends. The company continues to use SAP to drive its logistics operations, now with full confidence that it isn’t overspending on licenses it doesn’t need.
“Finding over a million euros in savings essentially hiding in plain sight was eye-opening. We knew we had some inefficiencies, but the extent was surprising. SAP Licensing Experts helped us every step of the way – from revealing the waste to convincing SAP to adjust our contract. Now we’re running leaner and not paying for unused licenses year after year,” — Director of IT Asset Management, Dutch Logistics Company
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