The Hidden Cost of Unused Potential

Why SAP Education is the Untapped Advantage in Today’s Tariff-Stressed Supply Chains

It’s a strange new world for supply chain leaders. The rules keep changing, the ground shifts constantly, and what worked yesterday may be completely inadequate tomorrow. In recent weeks, businesses around the world have faced a fresh wave of tariff increases on imported goods. New tariffs have added billions in additional costs across sectors, from electronics to industrial materials. The unpredictability isn’t just economic—it’s existential. How do you build a resilient supply chain when the ground keeps moving?

Consider Current. Following its divestiture from GE, Current saw a pivotal opportunity to operate with greater agility and responsiveness. The team was eager to evolve beyond the constraints of legacy systems and governance models built for a larger corporate structure. They recognized the potential to simplify supply chain planning and execution, which had become overly complex to meet the needs of the original parent GE. With the divestiture, Current was free to focus on being nimbler and increase scalability. SAP had untapped potential, often sidelined in favor of spreadsheets and manual workarounds that introduced siloes and inefficiencies due to the GE requirements. With limited automation, multiple data handoffs and sources, and limited trust in SAP as a single source of the truth, decisions were harder than they needed to be—leaving SAP underused as a strategic enabler. The executive team, led by CIO Mark LeClair, began to ask the bigger question: "Is there a better way to improve agility and prepare for potential volatility?"

They found the answer not in an external solution, but in an internal revolution: education. By fully leveraging the SAP system they already owned, Current was able to dramatically reduce inventory, improve planning accuracy, and increase operational agility.

From Education to Transformation

Many companies mistake training for education. Training shows users which buttons to press. Education teaches them why the system matters, how it works, and what it can really do when aligned with business strategy. For Current, this distinction made all the difference.

"We realized we were using just 15% of our SAP investment," said LeClair in a recent interview with Reveal Managing Partner Martin Rowan. "Once that sunk in, the idea of just 'managing around the system' was no longer acceptable."

Reveal led a deep-dive assessment into how SAP was being used—and more importantly, how it wasn’t. What followed was a sweeping transformation rooted in Reveal’s oVo® methodology, which emphasizes operational visibility, optimization, and organizational change.

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The Power of Critical Thinking and Ownership

Through targeted SAP education, hands-on coaching and change management, Current empowered its planners, buyers, and operations staff to use the system as it was meant to be used. They eliminated spreadsheets. They shut off expensive bolt-on tools. They started trusting the data.

"I didn’t know SAP could do that," was a common refrain from users as they unlocked previously hidden capabilities. The cultural shift was equally important. Teams began to own master data decisions, understand upstream/downstream impacts, and think critically about how SAP supported their role in the broader value chain.

This wasn't just a system tweak. It was a reimagining of how the supply chain team worked, learned, and led. The transformation was guided by Reveal, but owned by Current's leadership and frontline users alike.

Measurable Results in Months

The outcomes were clear and fast:

• 23% reduction in active material inventory
• 31% improvement in inventory turns
• 18% drop in obsolete inventory
• Improved available-to-promise performance
• Reduced manual workarounds and spreadsheet dependency
• Simplified IT landscape, setting the stage for S/4HANA

Perhaps most importantly, the company was better positioned to respond to ongoing global disruptions. As tariffs continue to evolve, Current is no longer bracing for impact—it’s adapting in real time, with a more educated and empowered workforce.

Education as a Strategic Imperative

Current’s story is not unique—but it is instructive. Many SAP-powered companies are operating at a fraction of their system’s capability. The cost isn’t just inefficiency; its opportunity lost, resilience undermined, and capital frozen.

"We had to invest in our people," LeClair shared. "Once they saw what was possible, they leaned in. And now they’re the ones driving the next wave of transformation."

Conclusion: Rewrite the Manual

In a world where disruption is dramatic and constant, enterprises can’t afford to run blind. For SAP-powered supply chains, the path to agility, resilience and profitability isn’t found in another software purchase. The answer lies in turning inward, optimizing what they already have instead of merely reacting to external forces.

And if you’re an enterprise running on SAP, the potential is enormous—though perhaps not in the way you might expect. It’s found in education. Training helps you follow the manual. Education helps you rewrite it. And that’s exactly what leaders like Current are doing—with measurable results to prove it.