Most organizations lack visibility into the true cost of their warranty operations and overall service performance. You might have a general idea of claims paid out, but the hidden costs of administration, lost supplier recovery, and fraudulent claims often sit below the surface. When initiating a Warranty Business Case SAP evaluation for a digital transformation project, companies often rush straight into software selection while skipping the most important step: defining the actual business problem.
Soren Detering, the founder of Detering Consulting, has seen this pattern for over 20 years while leading complex SAP implementation projects. As a Senior SAP Solution Architect, he helps enterprises fix broken aftermarket service loops and improve their service operations. He works closely with the SAP ACS development team in Germany to bring direct innovations from the source to his clients. Before any software is installed, he insists on a critical first step to ensure long-term success.
We call this step the QuickScan, which is a structured exercise designed to build a solid Warranty Business Case SAP. Without it, you are guessing at the scope, which leads to budget overruns and missed opportunities for return on investment (ROI). This article explains why you need a clear business case and how to build one that your board will approve for your Warranty Management Solution.
Are you an SAP customer but not satisfied with your warranty claims processing solution? Ask us about the Warranty QuickScan!
Warranty Business Case SAP: Why Claims Management Projects Often Fail
Many companies treat claims management as a small feature of their ERP system rather than a core business driver. They assume the process is simple: a customer complains, you check the date, part number, failure code, and you pay the claim. In reality, warranty processes are fragmented and often live in spreadsheets, emails, and the heads of long-time employees. When you try to move this chaos into a structured SAP environment without preparation, trouble starts.
We often see businesses underestimate the complexity of their own rules during a Warranty Management Solution rollout. You might have different entitlement checks for domestic versus international customers or specific return material authorization (RMA) loops for hazardous materials. If these are not documented, they are not scoped, and the project timeline explodes when they are discovered during the build phase.
The financial risk is real, as a project scoped for six months can easily stretch to eighteen if requirements keep changing. This destroys the ROI and damages credibility with executive leadership who expect a streamlined aftermarket service experience. You need to know exactly what you are building before you hire the integration team for your Warranty Management Solution.
Never start an SAP warranty project based solely on current software costs. The real costs lie in undocumented processes and missed supplier recovery opportunities that lead to significant revenue leakage.
Understanding the QuickScan Approach for SAP ACS Warranty Management
Before every SAP warranty management project, SAP Standard or SAP ACS, we recommend the QuickScan exercise to validate your aftermarket service strategy. This is not a sales meeting; it is a rigorous two to four-week project focused on your specific service operations. We conduct much of this work onsite to see your operations firsthand, though we also handle data analysis remotely. The goal is to determine the true scope of your Warranty Business Case SAP.
QuickScan serves as an audit of your current state and identifies areas of focus and improvement, such as revenue leakage. Most clients are surprised by what we find, such as undocumented warranty rules, informal service contract agreements, and RMA processes that exist only in personal notebooks. This exercise is the only place where many stakeholders get full exposure to how their aftermarket service processes actually work across different departments.
Soren Detering designed this productized approach to strip away assumptions and ensure a successful SAP implementation. By the end of the scan, you are not just looking at a software purchase; you are looking at a comprehensive map of your aftermarket service obligations. This map becomes the foundation of your Warranty Management Solution implementation plan and future growth.
- QuickScan is a 2-4 week deep audit, not a sales pitch.
- Service, RMA, and Warranty processes tend to be undocumented and fragmented across teams.
- You must identify all workflows before starting your software selection and project implementation.
Building a Board-Defensible Warranty Business Case SAP for S/4HANA
To get approval for a robust SAP warranty project, you need to prove the value to executive leadership. A Warranty Business Case SAP project is not about spending money on IT; it is about stopping revenue leakage. The QuickScan data allows you to calculate exactly where you are losing money and how much you can get back through optimized claims management.
Increasing Supplier Recovery in Your Warranty Management Solution
One of the biggest areas of lost revenue is supplier recovery. When a part fails and you pay a customer claim, you should often get reimbursed by the supplier who made that part. In manual systems, this link is frequently broken, leading to unnecessary costs. We help clients design entitlement frameworks that automate this check within their Warranty Management Solution. If you pay a claim, the system immediately flags the supplier obligation, which can often pay for the entire project.
Reducing Claims Leakage through Automated Claims Management
Leakage happens when you pay claims you do not owe, such as repairs for units out of warranty. Without an automated system to check entitlements against specific serial numbers, human agents will err on the side of paying to keep the customer happy. S/4HANA Warranty automates these checks to ensure compliance. Our solutions are available for SAP ECC also. The business case becomes simple: if we stop 5% of invalid claims, what does that save the company annually in claims management costs?
Streamlining Aftermarket Service Operations and Efficiency
Efficiency is the third pillar of a successful Warranty Business Case SAP. If your claims processors spend 30 minutes on each claim chasing data across three systems, your administrative costs are too high. By modernizing warranty models, you reduce the time per claim and allow your team to focus on complex issues. Soren’s expertise in bridging business strategy and execution means these operational gains are calculated and included in the final report.
Decision Prerequisite: S/4HANA Warranty Standard or SAP ACS?
A major outcome of the QuickScan is the "decision prerequisite" for your SAP implementation. You need to decide which software tool is right for the job. SAP offers standard warranty capabilities within S/4HANA or ECC Warranty, but we also offer the advanced SAP ACS (Aftermarket Cloud Solution) Warranty Management Solution. Choosing the wrong one is a costly mistake that can hinder your aftermarket service goals.
The standard solution works ok for simple, linear warranty processes. However, if you are in the Aerospace, Automotive, Medical Device, or complex manufacturing industry, your needs are different. You might have complex "parent-child" relationships with parts or recall campaigns that overlap with standard warranties. You might need to track serial numbers through multiple lifecycles using an advanced Warranty Management Solution.
QuickScan determines if you need the heavy lifting power of SAP ACS. Because we identify the specific pieces of the solution we order from SAP Germany, you avoid buying shelfware. You also avoid trying to force a complex process into a simple tool, which leads to heavy customization and future upgrade nightmares for your S/4HANA Warranty and Service Contracts environment.
Steps in the QuickScan Process
Discovery and Data Gathering
Consultants work onsite to interview stakeholders and review current documentation. This phase uncovers hidden spreadsheets and informal agreements that impact your Warranty Business Case SAP.
Process Mapping and Gap Analysis
The team maps your actual processes against SAP capabilities. This step highlights where standard software fits and where advanced SAP ACS features are required for claims management, as well as FRICE requirements: Forms, Reports, Interfaces, Conversion, and the E stands for Enhancements, aka code that is required to enable certain features.
Business Case Presentation
The final output is delivered. This includes the implementation roadmap, timeslines, the specific software bill of materials, and the ROI Business Case calculation for the board.
Reducing Implementation Risk with a Strategic Warranty Management Solution
Risk mitigation is the primary goal of the QuickScan exercise. When you rush into a project, you face the risk of scope creep and inefficient claims management. By using our productized service approach, we front-load the discovery to ensure your aftermarket service strategy is sound. This reduces the chance of delays and budget overruns during your SAP implementation.
The output of the QuickScan exercise provides a record that the project manager can refer back to when requests for changes inevitably arise. If a department head asks for a new feature in month three, the project manager can point to the initial scan. This baseline for governance is essential for any Warranty Business Case SAP to remain viable throughout the project lifecycle.
It also provides upfront assurance to clients. You know exactly what you are buying and that the timeline is based on your actual data. For companies operating globally, this is vital. International subsidiaries often have local laws that dictate warranty handling. QuickScan captures these variations early, so they do not become showstoppers for your Warranty Management Solution later.
Use the QuickScan findings to negotiate better terms with suppliers. Once you have data on failure rates and supplier recovery leakage, you have significant leverage.
The Role of Deep Expertise in SAP ACS and S/4HANA Warranty
This process relies heavily on the experience of your SAP architect. Soren Detering brings a perspective that generalist consultants lack. Because he collaborates directly with SAP ACS development team, he knows what is on the roadmap. This prevents clients from betting their business on unproven functionality within their Warranty Management Solution.
He has partnered with leading companies in aerospace, automotive, marine electronics, building products, and public transit. These industries have very different needs. A bus transit system cares about fleet availability, while a building products company cares about field service. The QuickScan framework adapts to these differences, but the core objective remains the same: reduce risk and deliver a measurable SAP Warranty Business Case.
- QuickScan results serve as a project baseline to prevent scope creep.
- The process determines if you need SAP Standard or the advanced ACS solution.
- Upfront discovery protects the project timeline and budget.
Conclusion
Investing in SAP warranty solutions is a significant decision for any enterprise. It can transform your aftermarket service from a cost center into a strategic asset. However, the path to success is not about just picking the software; it is about understanding your business first. The Warranty Business Case SAP must be built on facts, not estimates, to ensure long-term ROI.
The QuickScan exercise offers a safe, structured way to get those facts. It exposes hidden processes, quantifies financial opportunities, and creates a clear roadmap for your Warranty Management Solution. Whether you end up with standard S/4HANA Warranty or the full ACS suite, you will make the choice based on data. This approach protects your budget, secures executive buy-in, and sets the stage for a successful deployment.
What is the Warranty QuickScan?
The SAP Warranty QuickScan by Detering Consulting is a short, high-impact assessment that uncovers where warranty risk and margin leakage exist today—and what to do about it. In 2–4 weeks, it delivers quantified financial exposure, prioritized improvement opportunities, and a board-level justification for action. The outcome is not just insight, but a ready-to-execute SAP Warranty project plan.