Manufacturers run on SAP and Oracle ERP, Microsoft productivity suites, PLM platforms, and increasingly complex cloud and AI tooling. Software costs represent 8–12% of IT spend — yet most manufacturing firms negotiate renewals with internal procurement teams who face vendor account managers armed with market data, playbooks, and licence compliance pressure. IT Negotiations levels the playing field. We deliver average savings of 26–38% for manufacturing clients, with zero disruption to operations.
Manufacturing is undergoing rapid digitalisation — Industry 4.0, IoT, digital twin, and AI-driven quality management are transforming production operations. But the same technology revolution that drives efficiency is also driving software cost complexity that most manufacturers are ill-equipped to manage.
SAP's push to RISE with SAP is pressuring manufacturers to migrate on-premise ERP to cloud subscription models — often at significantly higher total cost of ownership over a five-year horizon. Oracle's ULA and PULA agreements, commonly held by large manufacturers, create audit risk at certification time that can cost tens of millions. Microsoft's shift to per-user pricing affects manufacturers with large plant-floor workforces who use only basic functionality.
Add M&A integration complexity, global ERP rollouts, and operational technology (OT) convergence with IT, and you have a software estate that few internal teams can negotiate effectively without specialist support.
SAP is presenting RISE with SAP as the de facto future for manufacturing ERP. Many manufacturers have significant on-premise licence rights they're being encouraged to abandon. The cost difference can be $10–50M over five years.
Unlimited Licence Agreements — common in large manufacturers — require certification at the end of the term. Without careful licence position management, certification can trigger additional fees equal to or exceeding the original ULA value.
As operational technology merges with IT infrastructure, software licence agreements written for office environments no longer reflect the realities of connected manufacturing environments — creating both cost and compliance complexity.
Multi-national manufacturers must navigate jurisdiction-specific licensing terms, currency clauses, and country-by-country procurement authority. Vendors exploit fragmentation to extract sub-optimal pricing at the regional level.
We work exclusively on the buyer's side. Our advisors have negotiated software contracts for discrete manufacturers, process manufacturers, aerospace and defence primes, automotive OEMs, and industrial conglomerates. We understand manufacturing operations and structure every recommendation to avoid disruption.
SAP is the dominant ERP in global manufacturing. We help manufacturers navigate the RISE decision, preserve on-premise rights where valuable, negotiate phased migration terms, and secure pricing that reflects your long-term roadmap rather than SAP's annual revenue targets.
SAP Advisory →Oracle ULA certification is one of the highest-risk events in a manufacturer's software calendar. We manage the certification process end-to-end — from licence position assessment through to certified quantity negotiation — ensuring you certify at the lowest defensible number and exit the ULA on favourable terms.
ULA/PULA Advisory →Large manufacturers frequently have 20–30% of their Microsoft EA in unused or underutilised products. We benchmark your agreement, identify savings opportunities, and restructure your EA to reflect actual manufacturing and office workforce usage patterns.
Microsoft Advisory →AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are increasingly core to manufacturing digital transformation. We negotiate committed use discounts, egress fee waivers, and exit rights that protect your operational flexibility as your cloud footprint grows.
Cloud Optimisation →Oracle audits in manufacturing are frequently triggered by virtualisation, cloud deployments, or acquisitions. We defend manufacturers from licence claims with a systematic approach — licence position analysis, measurement methodology challenge, and commercial negotiation — that has reduced manufacturing audit claims by an average of 72%.
Audit Defence →Manufacturing M&A often creates immediate software licence exposure. Acquire a company running Oracle, SAP, or IBM under terms that don't permit transfer, and you can inherit a multi-million dollar liability overnight. We provide pre-close due diligence and post-close licence rationalisation.
M&A Advisory →Submit your SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft contracts for a confidential benchmarking review. Savings estimate returned within 5 business days — no obligation.
A global industrial manufacturer with 45,000 employees had overpaid on its Microsoft EA for three consecutive terms. We benchmarked the agreement, eliminated shelfware, and restructured the contract to reflect actual usage — delivering $8M in immediate savings and price protection for the subsequent three-year term.
Full Case Study →SAP presented a RISE with SAP migration as the only viable option for a large automotive OEM facing an end-of-maintenance deadline. We identified significant on-premise licence value, negotiated a hybrid migration path, and secured a 40% reduction on total migration cost.
Full Case Study →A diversified industrial manufacturer engaged us for an enterprise-wide portfolio review. Over 14 months, we renegotiated Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, IBM, and ServiceNow agreements — delivering $22M in combined savings with materially improved terms on all six contracts.
Full Case Study →S/4HANA, RISE with SAP, SAP EWM, SAP MES, SuccessFactors. The dominant ERP across discrete and process manufacturing.
Oracle ERP Cloud, Oracle Manufacturing, ULA/PULA, Java, Database. ULA certification and audit defence expertise.
Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain, Teams. Enterprise Agreement optimisation for mixed office/plant workforces.
IBM MQ, IBM Db2, WebSphere, Maximo (asset management). PVU optimisation and ELA strategy for IBM-heavy manufacturing estates.
Industrial IoT, connected factory, supply chain platforms. Enterprise Discount Programme negotiation and committed use optimisation.
Manufacturing Cloud, CPQ, Service Cloud field service. Shelfware elimination and renewal strategy for complex Salesforce deployments.
Before you sign the RISE with SAP agreement, read this guide. We document the leverage points, the alternatives, and the clauses that matter most for manufacturing organisations.
We understand manufacturing operations. Production uptime constraints, OT/IT boundaries, global rollout complexity, and plant-floor workforce licensing are part of every manufacturing engagement. We don't learn your business at your expense.
Oracle ULA certification is one of the most complex events in a manufacturer's software calendar. We have completed more ULA certifications and exit negotiations than any other advisory firm of our size — it is a core competency, not an occasional service.
For large ERP and multi-vendor negotiations, gain-share arrangements mean our fees are funded from the savings we deliver. There is no upfront cost and no risk — if we don't save you money, we don't get paid.
We hold real pricing benchmarks from 500+ completed engagements across multiple industries. When SAP or Oracle tells you their offer is "best price," we can demonstrate whether that is true — and if it isn't, we negotiate accordingly.
Do not sign before engaging independent advisory. RISE proposals are structured to maximise SAP's long-term revenue, not your total cost of ownership. We review your on-premise licence rights, model the 5-year TCO, and negotiate terms that reflect your actual migration readiness and leverage position.
ULA certification is complex and high-stakes. We assess your licence position, identify optimisation opportunities before certification, challenge Oracle's measurement methodology where appropriate, and negotiate the certified quantity. The difference between a well-managed and poorly managed certification can be $5–20M.
M&A creates immediate Oracle licence exposure. Oracle's policies on licence transfer, merger rights, and change of control can trigger material compliance gaps within weeks of close. We provide rapid post-close assessments and have resolved multiple manufacturing M&A licence situations, typically within 60 days.
We focus on enterprise software — ERP, PLM, middleware, cloud, and productivity. Operational technology (SCADA, DCS, MES) licensing negotiation is outside our core scope, though we can advise where OT and IT licences intersect in Oracle and SAP deployments.
Free 30-minute consultation. We identify your highest-value savings opportunities — SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, or any combination. No obligation.