How do you design a Statement of Work process that both creates control and maintains flexibility? The key is to standardize how services are procured without limiting the business’s different needs. In this article, SAP Fieldglass expert Joacim Karlsson explains how a common framework for Statement of Work can provide better governance, higher data quality, and better decision-making support.
When companies procure external services, the challenge is rarely the contract itself. The real challenge is creating a structure that works consistently across the entire organization while different business units have different needs.
In the second episode of Implema Talks, Johan Söderström continues the conversation with SAP Fieldglass specialist Joacim Karlsson. The focus now shifts from what Statement of Work is to how organizations can design a process that creates better governance, higher data quality, and a stronger foundation for decision-making.
When organizations start working with Statement of Work, the focus is often on features and technology. But according to Joacim Karlsson, the greatest opportunity lies elsewhere. It’s about designing a process that captures the business’s different ways of purchasing services, without each business area creating its own workflows.
This opportunity becomes particularly important in organizations that work with many suppliers and purchase different types of services within, for example, IT, research and development, production, or Facility Management.
A common perception is that standardization leads to more administration and less flexibility. Joacim instead describes how a common platform can create structure without limiting the business. Different types of Statement of Work can be configured based on business needs. Some services may need to be approved against clear milestones, others against fixed monthly fees, and still others through rate cards for larger teams.
At the same time, each process can contain its own mandatory fields and specific rules depending on what type of service is being procured. The result is a common governance model where each business area can work in the way that best suits the business, without compromising the company’s overall standards.
For many organizations, information about Statement of Work is scattered.
This makes it difficult to create a comprehensive view of the company’s service procurement.
Joacim instead highlights the value of gathering everything in a common platform.
“You get a central catalog of all Statements of Work in the company, instead of them sitting in someone’s Excel or inbox.”
When information is structured in the same way, it also becomes usable for analysis and follow-up.
When all Statements of Work follow the same structure, an entirely different foundation is created for the business. Suddenly it becomes possible to analyze questions that were previously difficult to answer. For example:
“Then you get a fantastic opportunity to analyze how you work with Statement of Work and how suppliers perform.”
This means that Statement of Work is no longer just an administrative tool. It becomes a source of business insights.
When processes, data, and workflows are gathered in a common framework, it becomes easier to develop the business over time.
At the same time, flexibility remains for business units that have special requirements.
It’s this combination of standardization and adaptability that makes Statement of Work more than just a way to administer service procurement. It becomes a model for how the organization governs, follows up on, and develops its external services.
In the second episode of Implema Talks, Joacim Karlsson explains how companies can design a Statement of Work process that combines flexibility, standardization, and better decision-making support for the entire organization. The first episode covers What is the difference between Statement of Work and Contingent Workforce in SAP Fieldglass?
An effective Statement of Work process is based on the business’s different types of service procurement. By standardizing processes and data collection while allowing different business areas to work in their own ways, both flexibility and control are created.
Standardization makes it possible to compare suppliers, analyze costs, and follow up on service procurement in a consistent way across the entire organization.
SAP Fieldglass makes it possible to configure different types of Statement of Work with, for example, milestones, fixed fees, rate cards, and business-specific processes within the same platform.
When all Statements of Work are managed in the same platform, the organization gains better oversight, higher data quality, and the ability to analyze supplier performance, costs, and workflows across multiple business areas and legal entities.
Business Area Manager Business Transformation
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