The Top 8 Myths About ERP Implementation That You Should Ignore

CHAPTER 7

Myth 7: Failure Is The Vendor’s Fault

It is the most significant, widely held false belief. The main reason behind any rollout process gone wrong is the lack of planning. And it’s a shared responsibility.

A lousy plan (or no plan at all) is the main reason why ERP implementation fails in any business. Regardless if you’ve hired the best vendor in the industry, be that the original manufacturer or a consultant.

Any right ERP implementation process needs to prepare for foreseen and unexpected stages and costs. However, it’s not always the case. 

Why? In my years of experience, I’ve seen it all. Here are my Top 4 Reasons:

1. The ERP vendor does not audit critical management issues nor provides a clear project management plan.
2. The client ignores/does not communicate ongoing resource management issues or bad practices.
3. There are different expectations across stakeholders and business areas that prevent from structuring a complete plan.
4. The client does not understand the full scope and extent of the endeavor.

When a plan is missing, what comes next is a series of unfortunate mistakes and failures. I’ve listed the most common here from general to specific and not in order of importance, as they will emerge with different levels of severity depending on your needs for ERP deployment.

• You Automate A Process That’s Bad From The Beginning

• You Choose a Bad Time And Rush Things

• You Spend More

• Your Staff Resists Change

• Your ERP Team Underperforms

• You Lose Valuable Data

• Not Enough Testing and Compatibility Issues

• Your Connectivity Collapses

• IT Infrastructure Fails

• No One Takes Ownership For Mistakes Or Omissions