ERP Impact During First Year of Implementation

We got a call from a large manufacturing group in the UAE. They had gone live with ERP 6 months ago. Finance was still doing reconciliations in Excel. Inventory reports took 3 hours to compile. No one trusted the data. Everyone blamed the system. The irony? The ERP was technically “implemented.” We were brought in to fix it. Here’s the exact 3-𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 we used (that most consultants skip): 1. 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬)  → First meeting was not with IT. We sat with Finance, Supply Chain, and Ops leaders to map pain vs. process. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝? Core processes were shoehorned into the system. Nobody mapped them against real-world cycles. 𝐅𝐢𝐱: We restructured key flows based on actual business needs—not system defaults. 2. 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 (𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬)  → Sales was struggling with mismatched SKUs.  → Finance had duplicate vendors and unlinked POs. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭: ✓ Duplication heatmaps ✓ Inconsistencies by module ✓ Cross-functional reconciliation tasks 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Built validation rules + cleansing pipelines. Tied ownership to teams. 3. 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫  → There was zero change control.  → Anyone could raise config requests.  → No one tracked impact or training. 𝐖𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥: ✓ Change advisory board with business+IT ✓ Measured impact before rollout ✓ Micro-trainings for every major change 𝐅𝐢𝐱: Business users re-engaged. System stability returned. 6 weeks later, the CFO said something I’ll never forget: “This is the first time the ERP feels like ours, not something pushed on us.” And that’s what real ERP rescue looks like. Not flashy. Not fast. But real. ♻️ 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐨 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧.

The ERP implementation: $600K. The integrations to make it actually work: $780K. Yeah. You read that right. The "duct tape" cost more than the engine. Here is the anatomy of a $1.4M mistake. The client wanted a clean, modern cloud ERP. But they refused to let go of their legacy baggage The custom CRM (Sunk cost fallacy). The WMS (Change aversion). The Billing System ("Accounting likes it"). I asked the CFO: "Why not consolidate these into the ERP?" His answer: "We don't want to disrupt those areas right now." Famous last words. To avoid "disruption," we built a Frankenstein monster: CRM Sync ($180K): Because sales wouldn't switch. Warehouse Middleware ($220K): Because the WMS had no API. E-commerce Bridge ($150K): Custom mods on Shopify broke standard connectors. HR & Billing Feeds ($230K): Bridging ancient systems to modern tech. Total Integration Cost: $780K. The Aftermath (6 Months Later): Three integrations failed. Not because the code was bad, but because the ecosystem changed. Shopify updated → Integration broke. WMS vendor patched → Middleware crashed. CRM team added a field → Data sync failed. I told the CFO: "You paid more to keep your old systems than you would have to replace them." If we had consolidated everything into SAP: Total Cost: ~$900K. Single point of truth. Unified support. Instead, they paid $1.475M to maintain six points of failure. Every integration you build is technical debt. It will break. It will slow you down. It will cost 3x more than you budget. If you are implementing an ERP to simplify your business, don't complicate it with eight integrations. Consolidate first. Integrate only when you absolutely must. Before you sign that SOW, run the math Cost to Integrate + Maintenance vs. Cost to Replace. If integration costs more, kill the legacy system. Don't trap yourself in integration hell just to avoid an awkward conversation with the Sales VP.

CFOs will drop $500K on ERP software without blinking. But watch what happens when you mention the 9-month implementation timeline. Their face changes. They know what's coming. Here's what nobody talks about during the sales pitch: For the next 9 months, you're running two companies. The old books don't disappear. The board still wants their monthly reports. Quarter-end doesn't take a vacation because you're "in transition." Meanwhile, you're manually migrating years of data. Learning a new system. Training your team. Checking that everything moved correctly. Then (and this is the part that breaks people) once you finally go live, you have to run back and manually catch up everything that happened during the transition. It's not one implementation. It's TWO. Most implementation partners know this. They just don't mention it. They'll pitch you "seamless migration" and "90-day go-live" because that's what you want to hear. What they won't tell you: Your controller will be pulling all-nighters for months. Your best people will burn out. That analyst you just hired? They're updating their LinkedIn. The money was never the problem. The 9 months of operational hell was. At DualEntry, we built our entire implementation around one principle: No double work. We've been in those war rooms at 2 a.m., trying to reconcile two systems while the board meeting is in 6 hours. We know the real cost isn't in the software line item. It's in the people you lose along the way.

Going live with Dynamics 365 F&O doesn't mean your ERP implementation was successful. Here's a list of painful stuff you could find out after go-live: 1. Dirty data Turns out the system is missing critical data (parameters, etc.) and the master data is full of dirty records. As a result, operations suffer and many reports are wrong. Decision making is impacted. 2. Insufficient integration Surprisingly, your ERP doesn't exist in a vacuum and it actually depends on data contained in other applications. Are these applications talking to each other, and are they doing it correctly? If not, expect operational delays and a lot of manual intervention from employees. 3. Lack of training It's almost like it's impossible for people to master Dynamics in an afternoon. Exposing key users to a single round of UAT only wasn't enough, and it wasn't very smart to skip creating documentation. Result? Inefficiency that persists months after go-live, and money wasted to build features that are not used. 4. Technical debt Oh noes, the system is slow. Surely it's not related to those 72 major customisations you had your system integrator develop because "we have it in the old system and it's essential for go-live". Now you've spent millions to replicate the same inefficient, slow, clunky monster of an application that was your previous ERP, just on a new platform. Prepare to face the same problems you had before, just on a bigger scale. 5. Bad fit for purpose Ah yes, my favourite. You implemented (or worse, custom built) a feature that was perfect for your company. Except it doesn't match how your people do things. So you see workarounds, out-of-system processes, and parallel databases on Excel spreadsheets. The ROI of your ERP implementation is basically negative. So how do you save yourself from these issues? Get an independent advisor on board. Somebody who understands how ERP implementations work. And make sure they're on your side. And if it's too late? Well, start fixing those issues now, because the more you wait, the worse they'll become.

The Work Doesn't End at ERP Go-Live. It Starts There You've spent 12-18 months implementing a new ERP system. You've survived the data migration, the training sessions, the "where did this button go?" panic of week one.  Now you have data flowing through standardized processes. Most construction leaders treat ERP go-live as the finish line and stop there. But buried inside your shiny new system lies a world of value that is waiting to be realized. Here are the 6 construction processes where I see the fastest value realization post-go-live: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 In other words the lag between field changes and billing approval.  Look for ways to cut cycle times because every day of delay waiting for signatures leads to margin erosion. 𝟮. 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 The time it takes from invoice receipt to payment release.  Target automated 3-way matching so your AP team isn't manually reconciling line items.  This is where most companies have cash flow friction. 𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 A measure of how quickly your actual costs update your forecast-at-completion.  Your PMs shouldn't be managing million-dollar projects with 30-day-old data.  Optimize for real-time visibility. 𝟰. 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗨𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 The gap between equipment sitting idle on one job site and equipment getting redeployed to another.  Look for automation that alerts other PMs when assets become available. 𝟱. 𝗥𝗙𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 From submission to architect review and approval to subcontractor notification.  Every day of RFI delay can impact your schedule.  Target end-to-end workflow visibility so nothing gets lost in someone's inbox. 𝟲. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 The gap between when materials are ordered and when they actually arrive on site. And how that compares to what was promised.  Optimize for variance tracking so your project teams can identify which suppliers consistently miss dates and adjust planning accordingly.  This turns your ERP into an early warning system for schedule impacts. These processes all worked "well enough" before your ERP implementation.  Now you have the infrastructure to make them excellent. But only if you treat go-live as the beginning of value realization, not the end of the road. If your ERP has been live for 6+ months and you're still not seeing the value you expected, let's talk.  I help construction leaders close the gap between system capability and actual results. #ConstructionERP #ProcessOptimization #ConstructionTechnology

A big 4 consulting firm implemented ERP which caused a major business disruption for a client.   Top level partners in top notch suits made best promises in a beautifully crafted presentation.   The client got excited. Deal signed.   I joined the party at the SIT phase. Which could not complete.   The integration between ERP, WMS and boundary systems was failing.   SIT lasted for 3 more months. Go live data had to be pushed. But the integration still did not work.   The burn rate was insane.   Eventually the leadership decided to make it live and forced half-baked solution.   Yay! Everyone was happy until they realized what a sh*t show they were in.   Right after go live the planners and supply chain operations realized that the stock on hand in ERP, WMS, their custom system and on the shelf were all different.   They had to call the warehouse to make sure they had the right quantity of equipment.   The result: ·      All the departments started overordering to cover up for their projects. ·      2 million dollar sales were lost. No stock. Couldn’t deliver. ·      Inventory across the supply chain grew by $20M. ·      It took 18 months to stabilize the system.   Why did that happen? 1.      The vendor recently bought the WMS solution and did not yet build native integration. 2.      Poor integration between the systems. Transactions were stuck due to errors. 3.      Terrible user experience. Warehouse workers could not perform their role in a system and circumvented the restrictions. 4.      Lack of training and end user support   Want to avoid this costly mistake? Here’s what you should consider. ·      ERP can look great on a slide deck but may not necessarily fit your business ·      ERP can fit your business but not your boundary systems ·      An implementation partner can have a big brand name, but one integration architect can screw the whole thing ·      Hire an independent ERP adviser to make sure you have the right solution and partner   In summary:   Don’t trust ERP fairy tales.   Do your due diligence.   #ERP    #TheERPGuy     #ERPImplementation

ERP migrations are BRUTAL. They cost a fortune, take forever, disrupt the organization, etc. Companies usually bring in consultants, but A LOT of work falls on the internal team, and many people gloss over this critical piece. Let's focus on the client's responsibilities and why the client is at a major disadvantage during these projects. Your ERP implementer signs up for a lot of work, but they expect the client to provide clean data, explain business processes, test the new system, sign off on the new system, and run parallel processes with the old/new systems to ensure the business runs correctly. A common data process during an implementation: 1) Your team pulls data for a specific process from the old systems. 2) Your team fights to get it into the format for the new system. 3) The implementer loads it into the new system. 4) The implementer and the client test the new system. 5) Errors are found. 6) The implementer asks you to track down the errors, fix them, and provide a new data set. (back to step 1) This portion of the ERP implementation puts a MASSIVE load on your internal team. They will be doing constant data integration tasks, and most internal teams aren't data engineers. Most are also working full-time jobs with the ERP migration being added to their 40+ hour workload. IT can help you, but they likely don't have a ton of bandwidth, and they rarely have the background in the business processes to know if the data is correct. They give you what you ask for...but you probably don't know the table structures or nuances of the database. Any delays or data issues that stem from you (the client) are fair game to delay the project, and the implementer (contractors) will keep billing. You've caused the delay, so there's nothing they can do. To recap: 1) You are resource-constrained. (Your team has full-time jobs already.) 2) Your teams aren't SQL/Database wizards or data engineers. 3) IT can help but is busy and doesn't know all of the business logic. 4) You are responsible for the data quality and testing. 5) Any delays cost 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars. 6) If the delays are because of tasks assigned to the internal team, the implementer will ensure that they are clearly documented and understood. Our recommendation is to have a consulting team like Capitalize Analytics on YOUR TEAM. We'll bring in the data engineering skills, work with your IT team efficiently, keep the ERP implementer in check, advocate for you, and shoot straight with you on issues and where they are coming from. We'll bring in data technology like Alteryx and testing automation technology like UiPath to speed things up and keep you on time. We'll also train your team so they are better, stronger, and faster when the project is over. ERP implementers are indispensable, but they won't do it all. They may make it seem "easy" to close the sale and start the project, but we've been down this path before. It's HARD work. Thumbs up if it's not BS! :-)

Met a CEO earlier in the year whose D365 F&O story reflects a common pattern. 'We went live with excellent technical delivery,' they shared, 'but somehow still weren't seeing the expected business benefits.' The numbers tell a familiar story. Ernst & Young's 2023 ERP study reveals: 72% of technically successful implementations fail to deliver expected business value Only 13% achieve their planned transformation objectives Average time to value recognition: 24-36 months Through our analysis of a multitude of implementations in our collective experience, three critical patterns emerge: Governance Structure IT-led steering committees (85% of struggling projects) Technical KPIs dominating board reports Benefits tracking focused on system metrics, not business outcomes Process Transformation 70% of processes simply digitised, not reimagined Cross-functional opportunities missed in 82% of cases Change management starting average 9 months too late Business Engagement Average 68% decline in business leader engagement post-budget approval 84% of business teams returning to old processes within 6 months Transformation objectives diluted by technical focus What's often overlooked? According to Forrester's latest research, successful D365 implementations spend 60% of their effort on business transformation and 40% on technical delivery - the exact opposite of typical projects. Leading a D365 programme? Ask yourself: When was the last time your steering committee discussed business transformation metrics rather than project timelines? #D365FO #DigitalTransformation #BusinessStrategy"