I Managed $700M in SAP Projects. Here's Why Fixed Price Contracts Fail

Описание: If you are as SAP S 4Hana Program Manager in the UK or a CIO in the US about to enter into a SAP HANA program, the most dangerous document in your office isn't a lawsuit, it’s the SAP Fixed Price contract you just signed. Most executives sign these deals for "budget certainty," but in 2026, a poorly structured Fixed Price agreement is nothing more than a "Stupidity Tax."

In this video, I’m peeling back the curtain on why these contracts often turn into a declaration of war between you and your vendor. After managing $700M in complex Aviation and Defense transformations, I’ve seen exactly where the "Fixed Price" model fails and how vendors weaponize change orders to protect their margins.

In this deep dive, you will learn:
👉 The "Best Practice" Trap: Why vendors push "Standard SAP" (Public Cloud) even when it kills your competitive advantage—just to keep their delivery costs low.
👉 Clause 1: The Right of Refusal: Why you must have the legal "Veto Power" to interview and reject replacement resources (the key to stopping the "Resource Shell Game").
👉 Decoupling Design (Phase 0): Why you should never sign a Build contract until you’ve completed a separate, T&M-based Design phase.
👉 The Menu Card Strategy: How to use a "Complexity Matrix" to lock in unit pricing for simple, medium, and complex objects before the first line of code is written.

⏱️ KEY MOMENTS
00:00 The Warning: The Most Dangerous Document in Your Office
01:06 The Reality of Fixed Price Deals: Certainty vs. Reality
01:53 The 3 Traps: Why Your SAP Contract is Bleeding Money
04:26 Trap #1: The "Best Practice" Lie in Public Cloud Migrations
07:16 Trap #2: The Resource Shell Game (Bait and Switch)
10:01 Trap #3: The Assumption Minefield: Data & Speed Traps
13:14 The Blueprint: 3 Practical Strategies to Protect Your ROI
20:41 Executive Action: Aligning Vendor Incentives with Business Value

🚀 SECURE YOUR EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY
Don't bring a checkbook to a knife fight. Join my program to master the "Internal Strategy" required to lead high-stakes ERP and AI implementations.
🌐 Audit Your SOW: [noeldcosta.com/supporting-your-business]
💼 Connect on LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/noeldcosta]
📧 Direct Inquiries: [email protected]

ABOUT NOEL D'COSTA
I rescue troubled implementations. With 24 years of experience—including leading $700M transformations for global giants like Etihad Airways—I help CIOs and CFOs in the UK and US cut through sales fluff and build "Executive Authority" over their digital roadmaps.

#sap #erpstrategy #fixedprice #contractnegotiation #projectmanagement #s4hana #clouderp #cio #itprocurement #NoelDcosta #vetopower