Your programme is live. Now make it work harder.

Go-live is the beginning — not the end. The organisations that get the most from their SAP investment are the ones that keep improving after the programme team has left.

After go-live

What does sustaining and improving an SAP investment actually involve?

Most organisations close the programme, disband the team, and move on. Within months, workarounds embed themselves, adoption stalls, and the benefits the board approved start to feel like a distant ambition.

The organisations that avoid this are the ones that treat go-live as a starting point — building the internal capability to keep improving, and investing in structured process optimisation to close the gap between what SAP can deliver and what it currently does.

Signs the value from your programme is eroding.

Your investment may need attention if:

Teams are still working the old way despite a new system

Benefits promised at board approval are not materialising

A backlog of improvement requests is growing with no clear prioritisation

SAP knowledge is concentrated in a few individuals and not embedded in the business

The support model is reactive — fixing problems rather than driving improvement

With the right post go-live support:

Process adoption is measured, tracked, and continuously improved

Benefits are tracked against the original business case and owned by the business

Improvement requests are prioritised by impact and delivered systematically

SAP capability is embedded across IT and the business — not dependent on individuals

A Centre of Excellence drives continuous improvement as a BAU discipline

Where to start.

There are two accelerators built for organisations at this stage of their journey.

After go-live — build the capability to keep improving.

RunCentre Setup™ is Limelight's Centre of Excellence accelerator — establishing the support model, role definitions, and continuous improvement framework your organisation needs to manage SAP independently after the programme team leaves.

The programme is ending and there is no plan for what comes after
SAP knowledge is concentrated in a few individuals and not embedded in the business
The support model is reactive rather than capability-led
You want to reduce dependency on external resource post go-live

Build your capability

After go-live — get more from your SAP investment.

RunBetter Processes™ is Limelight's post go-live improvement accelerator — identifying where value is being left on the table and embedding the process changes that make the difference.

The system is live but teams are still working the old way
Benefits promised at board approval are not materialising
A backlog of process improvements is growing with no clear prioritisation
You want continuous improvement embedded as a business discipline

Improve your business

The thinking behind everything Limelight does.

RunFast — written by Limelight co-founder Neil How — is the Amazon number one bestselling guide to accelerating technology transformation programmes. It contains the principles, frameworks, and hard-won lessons that underpin every Limelight engagement. If you want to understand how Limelight thinks about programme delivery, start here. Get your copy

How Limelight works after go-live.

Building capability. Improving processes. Sustaining value.

Assess where you are

A structured review of your post go-live position — process adoption, benefit realisation, support model maturity, and internal SAP capability. The honest starting point for every improvement decision.

Outcome
A reality check

Build what's missing

Centre of Excellence design, role definitions, capability frameworks, and support model optimisation — establishing the internal structures that allow your organisation to manage and improve SAP independently.

Outcome
A world class COE

Keep improving

Structured process improvement embedded as a BAU discipline — prioritised, owned by the business, and tracked against the original business case. Value that compounds over time.

Outcome
Continuous innovation

Trusted by.

Questions we get asked.

Our programme went live six months ago — is it too late to maximise the value?

It is never too late — but the sooner you act, the less value you lose. The six to twelve months after go-live are the most critical window for embedding adoption and capturing benefits. Every month that passes without structured improvement activity is a month of value erosion.

Most of the value lost after a SAP go-live is lost in the first year — through stalled adoption, embedded workarounds, and a support model that wasn't designed for continuous improvement. Limelight regularly works with organisations six, twelve, and even eighteen months post go-live to recover the improvement momentum that dissipated when the programme team left. The starting point is always an honest assessment of where things stand — and from there, a prioritised plan to close the gap between what SAP can deliver and what it currently does.

How do we build a Centre of Excellence without losing the expertise Limelight brings?

That is exactly what RunCentre Setup is designed to do — transfer knowledge, embed capability, and establish the structures that allow your organisation to run and improve SAP without ongoing dependency on external support.

A good Centre of Excellence engagement doesn't create dependency — it removes it. Limelight works with your IT and business teams to design a COE that is owned and operated internally from day one. That means building the right roles, developing the right capability frameworks, establishing the right governance, and ensuring your people have the knowledge and confidence to manage and improve SAP without needing to call Limelight every time. The goal of every RunCentre Setup engagement is that Limelight becomes less necessary — not more.

How do we prioritise process improvements without disrupting BAU?

Through a structured assessment that evaluates each improvement opportunity against three criteria — business impact, implementation effort, and operational risk. High impact, low effort, low risk improvements go first. Everything else is sequenced behind them.

Limelight's RunBetter Processes engagement begins with a diagnostic that maps every identified improvement opportunity against impact, effort, and risk. This produces a prioritised backlog — not a list of everything that could be better, but a sequenced plan of what to tackle first and why. Improvements are then delivered in waves, with each wave sized to avoid disrupting BAU operations. Business teams are involved in design and delivery — so changes land with the people who run the work, not on top of them.

What is the first step to working with Limelight after go-live?

A conversation about where you are and what you're trying to achieve. If the focus is on building internal capability, RunCentre Setup is likely the right starting point. If the focus is on process improvement and benefits realisation, RunBetter Processes. If you're not sure — a conversation will tell you.

Post go-live, the right Limelight engagement depends on what the organisation most needs. RunCentre Setup is right for organisations that need to build the internal capability to manage and improve SAP independently. RunBetter Processes is right for organisations that have the internal capability but need structured support to identify and embed specific process improvements. Many organisations need both — in which case RunCentre typically comes first to establish the foundation, with RunBetter following to drive the improvement programme. A short conversation with a Limelight director will clarify which is the right starting point for your situation.