The Protection Play
The Situation
A mid-market enterprise was six months into an SAP implementation when the warning signs became impossible to ignore. The SI was padding costs through change orders, resources were rotating regularly, and OCM was entirely SI-owned — leading to growing user resistance. The internal PM was struggling to manage both the project and the SI relationship simultaneously.
Tags
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Data & Analytics
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OCM
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Project & Program Management
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SAP
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SI Risk Management
The Complication
The real danger wasn’t technical — it was structural. The client had no independent voice in the room. Every decision came from a party whose incentives were misaligned with theirs. Without someone in the client’s corner, the project was heading toward scope creep, budget overruns, and the kind of outcome that ends careers.
What Local World Did
Placed a dedicated Program Manager with deep Activate lifecycle experience to lead governance and manage the SI with authority.
Built and deployed a bespoke data governance strategy from scratch Delivered a complete, independent OCM strategy — resources, plan, and execution.
Rightsized project scope based on honest assessment of remaining timeline and budget Established a CoE hiring strategy ahead of go-live so the client could own the system post-launch.
The Outcome
The project was stabilized, scope was brought back under control, and the client achieved a successful go-live — with a functioning CoE and internal talent strategy in place.
“Local World’s role wasn’t to replace the SI — it was to make sure the client never had to rely solely on one.”