Midmarket industrial and manufacturing companies have long struggled to keep pace with digital transformation. While large enterprises invested heavily in automation during Industry 3.0, many midmarket organizations remained technology laggards, working with fragmented systems, siloed data, and outdated processes. But as Industry 4.0 reshapes expectations across the supply chain, these companies can no longer afford to delay digitization.
A recent evaluation conducted by Perpetua Advisors revealed something unexpected: SAP Cloud ERP has quietly evolved. And not just for global enterprises, SAP now offers a right-sized, modern ERP platform specifically optimized for midmarket, high-growth companies. The findings surprised even seasoned technology advisors.
Here’s what they discovered. Download the article.
The midmarket’s digital challenge isn’t simply about limited budgets. The PDF highlights six deeply rooted issues holding companies back from modernization:
The result? Midmarket teams spend more time managing systems than leveraging data.
The report emphasizes one key shift: midmarket companies need to stop owning technology systems and start owning their data. That requires platforms built for speed, agility, and automation, not heavily customized legacy software.
SAP’s GROW with SAP offering, centered on SAP Cloud ERP, formerly known as SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, is no longer the rigid, enterprise-only ERP many assume it to be. The study found that SAP has rebuilt its approach around:
SAP Cloud ERP includes built-in best practices, global compliance, end-to-end process automation, and a scalable architecture that grows alongside the business.
Notably, the report highlights how AI acts as a digital co-pilot, identifying anomalies, automating repetitive tasks, and surfacing insights that were previously hidden inside disconnected data sets.
Perpetua Advisors shares a case study of a midmarket CPG company that needed a single version of the truth across all operations. During their selection process, the company assumed SAP would be:
Too big
Too slow
Too rigid
Too expensive
Those assumptions turned out to be myths.
After working with SAP’s Midmarket Strategic Initiatives team, the company discovered that SAP Cloud ERP offered enterprise-grade capabilities without enterprise complexity. Key takeaways:
Rapid adoption
Faster time-to-benefit
Predictable SaaS pricing
Digital learning and enablement tools
A supportive community for continued growth
This shifted ERP from a burden to a springboard.
After walking through SAP’s evolved capabilities, Perpetua Advisors reached a clear conclusion:
SAP has reinvented itself for the midmarket.
SAP now offers:
A modern Industry 4.0 playbook
A platform that lets companies own their data, not their systems
A scalable ERP that supports high growth without heavy technical overhead
Perpetua was impressed enough to join SAP's Technical Advisory Program and now recommends SAP Cloud ERP when advising clients.
Their final assessment is simple:
SAP Cloud ERP is now one of the few ERP systems capable of meeting the needs of midmarket, high-growth companies.
This shift is especially meaningful for leaders navigating:
Rapid expansion
Supply chain modernization
M&A activity
Customer and supplier expectations for real-time data
Talent shortages in IT and operations
SAP Cloud ERP eliminates the old trade-off between power and agility. It gives midmarket companies enterprise-level capability while keeping the implementation, cost, and complexity in check.
As highlighted in the final pages of the PDF, Navigator Business Solutions is a long-standing SAP partner with 300+ successful SAP Cloud ERP implementations. Their Fit-to-Standard and workshop-driven methodology accelerates adoption, reduces risk, and helps companies achieve rapid time-to-value, making them a trusted partner for growth-focused leadership teams.