How to Define your ERP Contingency Budget
It’s no secret that ERP projects often run over time and over budget. There are countless case studies, whitepapers, anecdotes and even lawsuits that share horror stories of unexpected costs and scope extensions. Even with the best planning and due diligence, the unforeseen occurs. The recent ERP failure at Lidl and the National Grid vs. […]
The Project Sponsor’s Role on Digital Transformation Initiatives
By Sam Graham Several recent high-profile ERP failures have suggested that they were projects out of control, and that causes many people to query what the client’s senior management team was doing. ERP failure can largely be mitigated by clearly defining the project sponsor’s role on digital transformation initiatives. All textbooks recommend having a project […]
Defining your Digital Transformation Project Dream Team
Eric Kimberling recently posted a blog surrounding the potential dark side of digital transformation and how the increased power of technology can cause complications even greater than faced in the past with vanilla ERP implementations. One of the greatest risks of a complete digital transformation is not having the right team and skill sets to […]
ERP Implementation – Big Bang or Phased?
By Sam Graham If anything positive can be taken from recent ERP disasters (Lidl, National Grid, Waste Management, etc), it is that these failures happened before those systems went live. Compare that with, for example, the Hershey debacle (now frequently used as a case study in how not to implement ERP). It would appear that […]
Top 10 ERP and Digital Transformation Predictions for 2019
This has been an amazing year so far. Technology has continued to evolve while many organizations begin their digital transformation journeys. Some have been successful so far, while others have struggled. On a personal level, our company began working with 15 new clients in the last 6 months since spinning off from our last company. […]
How Your Systems Integrator is Rigging Your Digital Transformation
Most digital transformations are rigged. It was 20 years ago when I started in this space, and it still is today. I started my first consulting company (Panorama Consulting) back in 2005 because of the lack of unbiased independent ERP consultants in the market. That company at one time filled a need that wasn’t being […]
The Last Mile of Digital Transformation
Over the last two weeks, I have been intrigued by two data points: 1. A recent article by a well-respected colleague about the outdated nature of ERP software, and 2. Work we just started with a new client – a very large US-based manufacturing and distribution company – whose digital initiatives extend well beyond ERP […]
How to Avoid ERP Failure
By Sam Graham Benjamin Franklin once said that in this world only two things are certain; death and taxes. Were he alive today, he would probably have added a third: continuing analysis of ERP project failure. We had hardly moved on from the Anchorage disaster before we read about the National Grid SAP failure, and […]
How to Define the Best Change Management Process for your Digital Transformation
Organizational change management is one of the most misunderstood – and undervalued – aspects of complex ERP implementations and digital transformations. It seems that executives and project teams are constantly trying to figure out how to define the best change management process for their organizations. Each organizational change management engagement that we help our clients […]
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Implementation Readiness : Preparing for a Successful Digital Transformation
Once a company has selected Microsoft Dynamics 365, momentum is high. Employees and executives are excited and want to jump right into implementation. But an effective Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation readiness phase is important to ensure your project’s success. First, it helps to understand how projects like these typically unfold: your D365 system integrator appears […]
Tips to Select the Best Microsoft Dynamics 365 System Integrator
Choosing or upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics 365 as your preferred ERP system is a big milestone. But selecting the best Microsoft Dynamics 365 system integrator for your company is an even bigger decision. D365 is a great product that fits well with a number of companies. This is a good first step. But, ERP implementation […]
How to Estimate Implementation Time and Cost for SAP S/4HANA, Oracle Cloud ERP, or Microsoft Dynamics 365
Creating an ERP implementation plan and budget is a difficult undertaking. Not many people know how to estimate the implementation time and cost for an SAP S/4HANA, Oracle Cloud ERP, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 project. The Challenge of Estimating Implementation Time and Cost Bias and lack of independence are two the biggest reasons why companies […]