A new framework for SAP process optimisation and support shows how public buyers bundle consulting, implementation and management to steer complex change.
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Universitätsklinikum Aachen AöR has launched a wide‑ranging framework to support its SPRUNG process optimisation project, centring on an SAP S/4HANA transformation and related IT change. The move shows how public buyers are bundling consulting, implementation and support into long‑term agreements to manage complex digital programmes and extract more value from their systems.
Published in November 2025, Universitätsklinikum Aachen AöR has set out a framework agreement for SPRUNG services. Rather than commissioning a single project, the buyer is creating a structure it can use to call off different strands of work as the programme develops.
SPRUNG is described as a process optimisation project. The framework covers consulting, implementation and support services that together are intended to redesign and improve how the organisation works, not just replace one IT system with another.
The scope runs across several connected areas:
By grouping these elements, the buyer presents SPRUNG as both an IT and an organisational change initiative. The transformation centre is named alongside technical work on SAP and ITSM, underlining that new structures for managing and governing change are part of the brief.
The S/4HANA element of the framework is explicit. The buyer wants support for an SAP S/4HANA transformation as well as enhancements to its existing SAP systems. That combination is significant: current platforms still need care and development even as a new generation of software is introduced.
Bundling both aspects into one agreement should help the organisation avoid a hard split between ‘old’ and ‘new’ systems. Suppliers can be tasked with keeping existing SAP environments stable and useful while also preparing, implementing and refining S/4HANA.
The optional introduction of an IT service management system adds another dimension. Linking ITSM to SPRUNG ties application change to the way IT services are requested, delivered and monitored. Even though the notice does not describe the ITSM tool in detail, placing it in the same framework confirms that service management is seen as part of process optimisation, not a separate topic.
Project management is also in scope. Rather than treating it as an internal afterthought, Universitätsklinikum Aachen AöR is procuring project management capability as a defined service. This gives the organisation the option to draw on external expertise to structure work, monitor progress and coordinate suppliers as the transformation unfolds.
Taken together, these elements reflect a category management mindset. SPRUNG services are defined as a coherent package of consulting, implementation, support and governance tasks. Instead of buying isolated pieces of technical work, the buyer is signalling that it wants partners who can support an integrated change journey.
The Aachen framework sits within a broader wave of SAP‑related agreements in 2025. Across different contracting authorities, frameworks are being used to secure long‑term support for both day‑to‑day operations and major system changes.
In October 2025, the Université du Luxembourg launched a framework agreement for SAP ECC to S/4HANA migration and digital transformation. Its call for qualified service providers spans business process redesign, technical migration, independent programme management and organisational change management. In June 2025, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH sought multiple partners through a framework agreement for SAP development, consulting and support services for ECC 6.0 and S/4HANA, with a clear focus on process optimisation and standardisation across modules and technical platforms.
Other buyers have gone to market for broad SAP expertise across many business areas. Hamburger Stadtentwässerung AöR is seeking development and consulting services for SAP applications including SAP Basis, FI CO, logistics, HCM, IS‑U, BI/BW and authorisation management. Kanton Luzern’s informatics service is evaluating several providers to become framework partners for SAP projects covering technology, finance, logistics, treasury, real estate management and analytics. Civillent GmbH’s framework for consulting services to support SAP implementation is explicitly part of a transformation programme aimed at standardising and digitising business processes. GKV‑Spitzenverband, meanwhile, is setting up two framework contracts for application‑related SAP ERP services, including both support for SAP applications and project services.
Healthcare‑related buyers are also highlighting the operational stakes of SAP. Universitätsklinikum Halle (Saale) AöR is procuring SAP HCM support services to ensure secure operation, support and further development of SAP HCM at the University Medical Center Halle, with optional services for migration to H4S4 and a clear focus on payroll processing stability. Training and knowledge transfer appear in Land Baden‑Württemberg’s corporate management support framework, which combines project management, technical support and S/4HANA training with a requirement for knowledge transfer so the client can maintain systems independently.
Seen together, these notices show a pattern. SAP contracts are no longer just about licences or discrete upgrades. They are being framed as multi‑year programmes that combine process optimisation, system transformation, support and organisational change, with frameworks used as the preferred commercial vehicle.
The SPRUNG agreement is a clear example of how frameworks underpin strategic sourcing and category management in public procurement. By defining a category of SPRUNG services that ranges from SAP transformation to project management and ITSM, Universitätsklinikum Aachen AöR can manage supplier relationships and spending in a structured way.
Other recent notices underline how category thinking is applied. STADT UND LAND Wohnbauten‑Gesellschaft mbH is establishing multiple IT service contracts divided into twelve lots, covering SAP consulting, Microsoft technologies, IT procurements, market analysis, network security, identity management and on‑site support. The Rechenzentrum der Finanzverwaltung des Landes NRW is creating framework agreements across seventeen lots for project management, business intelligence development and Java development.
These structures give buyers a mechanism to commission specific assignments while keeping an overview of categories and suppliers. Myndigheten för digital förvaltning – Digg, for example, explains in its consulting services framework that call‑offs will be conducted through renewed competition, with each assignment’s scope and requirements specified at that stage. AOK PLUS – Die Gesundheitskasse für Sachsen und Thüringen stresses the flexibility of its strategic consulting framework by noting that there are no guaranteed sales volumes and no obligation for the client to use the agreement.
Against this backdrop, SPRUNG looks like an attempt to bring the same discipline to a complex mix of process optimisation and SAP change. Using a framework allows the buyer to line up consulting, implementation, support and governance services under one commercial umbrella, and then deploy them as needs evolve.
The Aachen notice leaves many details – such as contract value, duration and the number of suppliers – to the procurement documents. But it does make clear that SPRUNG is an effort to optimise processes and modernise SAP systems through a structured mix of consulting, implementation and support.
Observers of public‑sector digital programmes will be watching how the framework is used in practice:
Across the other frameworks published this year, there is a strong current of process optimisation, standardisation and knowledge transfer – from Université du Luxembourg’s S/4HANA migration and digital transformation programme to IT Baden‑Württemberg’s focus on S/4HANA training and independent maintenance. Against that backdrop, Universitätsklinikum Aachen AöR’s SPRUNG framework reads as another sign that public buyers are treating strategic sourcing and category management as core tools for managing complex change and, potentially, for pursuing broader goals such as more efficient and sustainable public services.
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