Could a Better Digital Transformation Have Saved PG&E?
It’s been a rough few months for the utilities and energy industry. Oil prices have been volatile, National Grid settled a costly lawsuit with Wipro over its SAP failure, and PG&E announced earlier this week that it is filing for bankruptcy protection. As one of the largest US gas and electric utilities, which services over […]
Avoiding Death by 1,000 Papercuts in Digital Transformation
Here’s the situation: you currently use a legacy ERP system that has been in place for over 20 years. When your customer places an order, you enter them into a field called “work order” in your ERP system. Everyone within your organization refers to these as “work orders” in their daily discussions. Fast forward a […]
Business Integration: A Key Ingredient for a Successful Digital Transformation
We recently wrote about the dark side of digital transformation and how there are inherent risks in today’s digital landscape. As it turns out, there is a key ingredient to mitigate these risks. Business integration is the key ingredient for a successful digital transformation. Simply put, business integration combines the operational, organizational, and technical components […]
Who Did You Vote For?
No, I’m not talking about that election, although the end result is the same regardless of what type of “vote” we’re talking about. People get angry and start tossing blame for anything that happens. Possibly the same level of manipulation involved, as well, but I’m talking about which ERP system you voted for when your […]
Do This Before You Select a New ERP System
Years ago, when a client needed help evaluating and selecting a new ERP system, it was pretty straight forward. We would follow a basic methodology, define pain points, document requirements and go through the traditional long list and short list analysis of potential solutions. Today, the approach in actually selecting a software hasn’t changed too […]
Lessons from the SAP Transformation Problems at Haribo
The last year has been a difficult one for digital transformations and ERP implementations. After high-profile digital transformation failures at Lidl and National Grid, we now have news of SAP transformation problems at Haribo. Long story short: Haribo is a German candy manufacturer that manufactures gummy bears and other candies. In late 2018, they began […]
Did You Get a New ERP System for the Holidays?
Whether it was left under the tree or you managed to snag a vendor’s year-end closeout, getting a new ERP can be exciting. But like the new paint set you get for a 3-year old it can also cause a lot of stress if not managed correctly. I recall a phone call I received several […]
Digital Transformation Mandates for CXOs in 2019
As 2018 winds down and we look to the future, it is a good time to reflect on what we can do to be more effective in the coming year. The past year was a great one. On one hand, enterprise technology evolved in a significant way to help deliver potential breakthrough enterprise capabilities. On […]
Getting Help Selecting an ERP Implementation Partner
Software advisory firms have been helping organizations evaluate and select ERP software for decades and methodologies have become relatively holistic in their approach, with one key exception:evaluating and selecting an ERP implementation partner. Ask any ERP consulting firm how they evaluate the implementation partner, system integrator (SI) or value-added reseller (VAR) for the selected software […]
What Causes Digital Transformation Failure? The Little Things.
When we read about recent digital transformation failures such as those at Lidl and National Grid, it may seem like these disasters happened overnight. But what exactly causes digital transformation failure? One of our guest contributors (Sam Graham) recently wrote a piece about how to avoid ERP failure. It’s an excellent article that is worth […]
Should you Adopt ERP Implementation Best Practices?
A majority of marketing around business and technology refers to the concept of “Best Practices.” Software vendors such as SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft have also adopted use of this term almost to the point of exhaustion, claiming there is no need to worry about business processes during a software implementation since they bring “best in […]
Is Your Digital Transformation Creating a Cybersecurity Threat?
Cybersecurity is a hot topic. Despite this, most don’t consider that their digital transformations may be creating a cybersecurity threat. Recent security breaches at Under Armour, Target, Marriott, and other well-respected companies have caught the attention of CIOs. After all, if large companies with world-class resources at their disposal experience such breaches, what does that […]