SAP Cutover Lead

Not just traditional IT cutover activities, but the customer also needs business cutover activities e.g., telling the business to build up inventories before any IT blackouts occur.

Scope of Activities

The SAP cutover plan is in place, we need someone with excellent collaboration skills to manage the plan for SAP between us and the customer’s business and IT dept''s.

1. Cutover Strategy and Planning

Define the Cutover Strategy: Establish the overall approach, governance, communication protocols, and rollback procedures in case of critical issues.

Develop the Cutover Plan: Create a highly detailed, minute-by-minute task list (often called the "Cutover Playbook" or "Runbook") detailing every technical and business step, ownership, dependencies, and estimated durations.

Identify Blackout/Freeze Periods: Define and coordinate periods where legacy system changes, data maintenance, and business transactions must be paused or restricted.

2. Data Migration Coordination

Align with Data Teams: Work closely with data migration leads to coordinate the extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) of master and transactional data into the new SAP system.

Sequence Data Loads: Ensure data is loaded in the correct logical sequence (e.g., migrating organizational structures and master data before loading open transactional data like purchase orders or inventory balances).

3. Trial Runs and Dress Rehearsals

Execute Mock Cutovers: Lead multiple "Mock Cutovers" (dress rehearsals) in non-production environments to validate the sequence of tasks, test actual execution times, and identify potential bottlenecks or errors.

Refine the Playbook: Optimize the cutover plan based on lessons learned during the mock runs.

4. Business Readiness and Go-Live Execution

Establish the Command Center: Set up and manage the Cutover Command Center (or "War Room") to monitor progress, track issues, and facilitate rapid decision-making during the Go-Live window.

Manage the "Go/No-Go" Decision: Facilitate the formal assessment meeting with key stakeholders to review readiness criteria (technical, data, and business) and obtain formal approval to proceed with Go-Live.

Orchestrate Execution: Direct the step-by-step execution of the cutover playbook, ensuring tasks are signed off as they are completed.

5. Hypercare and Handover

Coordinate Hypercare Support: Oversee the immediate post-Go-Live support period, ensuring that any technical or operational issues are quickly triaged and resolved.

Handover to Operations: Formally transition the support ownership from the project team to the business-as-usual (BAU) support organization.