Germany has the highest SAP market penetration of any country in the world. SAP is headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, and the German market has been SAP's home market for over 50 years. For enterprise and upper-mid-market companies in DACH, "evaluating ERP systems" often means "evaluating whether to stay on SAP, migrate to SAP S/4HANA, or make a platform change." That is a very different conversation from an ERP greenfield selection.
For lower mid-market and SME DACH companies, the ERP landscape is broader: Microsoft Dynamics, Infor, Sage, Lexware, and a strong set of German-built industry-specific solutions compete alongside SAP Business One and SAP Business ByDesign.
The DACH ERP Evaluation Framework
- SAP S/4HANA migration context. SAP has announced end of mainstream maintenance for ECC (its current-generation on-premise ERP) in 2027, extended to 2030 with premium support. This deadline is driving re-evaluation for thousands of German companies currently on SAP ECC.
- GoBD compliance. German legal requirements for bookkeeping (GoBD) impose specific requirements on how financial transactions are recorded, stored, and audited. Any ERP system targeting the German market must demonstrate GoBD compliance.
- German localisations as baseline, not add-on. ELSTER integration (German tax authority e-filing), DATEV interface, Intrastat reporting, and German-specific chart of accounts formats are baseline requirements for ERP systems in Germany — not localisation modules to purchase separately.
- Implementation partner ecosystem quality. In the DACH ERP market, the implementation partner is as important as the software vendor. German buyers evaluate the local consulting ecosystem as part of their ERP vendor assessment.
What Moves DACH ERP Decisions
Industry-specific references from comparable German companies, clear GoBD compliance documentation, and a credible local implementation partner network. Without these three elements, non-SAP ERP vendors face significant resistance in the DACH enterprise market.