From SNP Transformation World 2025 – SNP Japan & Accenture Japan
Meet the Experts
Key Takeaways
⇨ Japanese customers face unique SAP S/4HANA migration challenges including complex SAP ECC systems with custom applications and big data, concerns over downtime, and a lack of local SAP consultants alongside language barriers.
⇨ Accenture's conversion factory, staffed with bilingual resources, helps overcome language barriers and resource shortages in Japan by providing offshore engineering support for SAP transformations.
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Robert Holland from ERP Today sits down with Shuhei Hotosanhi, Managing Director of SNP Japan, Mitsuhiro Wake, Managing Director of Accenture Japan, and Hiroki Irisawa, Associate Director of Accenture Japan, to talk about the unique challenges faced by Japanese customers, how SNP and Accenture are collaborating to support digital transformation journeys, and what considerations will be most important for customers over the coming year.
Customers in Japan face distinct challenges in their SAP transformation journey. With as many as 60% still running SAP ECC with complex systems and environments due to significant customizations and large data sets. A major concern for those completing transformation is that of downtime which traditionally might require long periods like year-end vacations. Additionally, customers in Japan frequently encounter language barriers and a lack of SAP consultants, with IT departments frequently being short of resources.
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SNP and Accenture are collaborating to address these through their SmartConversion initiative. This offering aims to help organizations undergoing transformation projects and looking to reduce downtime, allowing conversions to be completed over a weekend. Accenture’s conversion factory leverages a bilingual resource pool to communicate with the Japanese customers and, combined with support from engineers operating remotely, helps overcome resource and language barriers to enable a safter conversion from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA.
Tune in to learn more about the Japanese market and how SNP are Accenture are collaborating to make the transformation process easier for Japanese customers.
