Preparing for a SAP SuccessFactors or Workday Implementation
If there is one thing that we have learned from our lessons from 1,000 HCM implementations, it is that your level of transformation success hinges on the things you do before you ever start. There are a number of best practices that should drive how you prepare for your SAP SuccessFactors or Workday implementation. […]
Lessons from a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Failure
Late last month I received a call from a CIO that I have known for about 13 years. He and I have worked together over the course of his roles at three different companies, so I know him fairly well. But this phone call was different than others I have received from him in the […]
Summary of Findings from the 2019 ERP Report
A few weeks ago, we released the 2019 ERP Report. Unlike similar studies of years past, this one digs deeper into the statistical root causes of success versus failure – and the findings are very eye-opening. Overview of the 2019 ERP Report The study examines ERP implementations over the last 20 years, with a particular […]
Digital Transformation and ERP Implementation Readiness: Why It’s So Important to Your Initiative
Most people think that there are two distinct stages in a digital transformation. First you pick the right technology, then you implement it. But this traditional view misses what is the most important stage: implementation readiness. When we ask ourselves why digital transformation failures are increasing, most problems can be traced back to before the […]
Misalignment: The Secret Killer of Digital Transformation Initiatives
The real cause of digital transformation and ERP failures isn’t what you might think. When we hear about SAP failures at Lidl, the ERP challenges at Haribo, and other digital transformation failures, it’s easy to blame the obvious problems: We over-customized the software Our system integrator charged us too much and took longer than planned […]
What To Do Before Beginning Your SAP S/4HANA Implementation
Once you have selected your SAP system integrator, it’s easy to get steamrolled into letting the army of consultants show up on site, start the meter running, and just start doing stuff. Despite pressure you may feel from Deloitte, Accenture, Capgemini, or most other integrators, this is a terrible idea that goes against your best […]
The Trojan Horse Approach to Organizational Change Management
I recently wrote about how organizational change management is dead. The premise of this article is that traditional change efforts, frameworks, and approaches fail time and time again, so something needs to change if we are going to be more effective at managing change. These failed change efforts are creating a vicious circle of continuous […]
Your Business Blueprint Should Dictate Your SAP S/4HANA Implementation – Not the Other Way Around
At the moment, our team is helping about half a dozen larger organizations manage their SAP S/4HANA implementations. The biggest lesson so far? Your business needs should dictate how S/4HANA gets deployed – not the other way around. Myths and propaganda from SAP S/4HANA system integrators If you talk to a sales rep from SAP […]
How to Avoid Losing Control of Your SAP S/4HANA Transformation
Over the last 30 years, I have seen plenty of organizations lose control of their SAP implementations. These projects tend to be bigger and more complex than many organizations can handle, which is why there are so many SAP failures like those at Lidl, National Grid, Haribo, and other publicized challenges in recent years. Common […]
ERP Total Cost of Ownership: How to Calculate the Real Cost
One of the first questions new clients ask us is, “How much is this whole thing going to cost?” The honest answer, early on, is that nobody knows yet. Executive committees and boards will not accept that answer, so organizations put a number in front of them anyway. The trouble starts when that number turns […]
My Name Is Eric, and I Am a Recovering Big 5 SAP Consultant
My first job when I graduated with my master’s degree was with one of the big system integrators. I was a Big 5 SAP consultant focused primarily on organizational change management at some very large, multi-national organizations. Though colleagues and I have written about being Accentured and the dark side of the digital transformation, I […]
How to Negotiate an SAP S/4HANA Contract
It’s not every day that most of us negotiate multi-million-dollar contracts with significant cost implications for the future. When we do, it’s important to get it right. Before embarking on an SAP transformation or bringing SAP S/4HANA consultants on to your team, it is important to understand how to negotiate an SAP S/4HANA contract. We […]