Mistakes to Avoid When Changing ERP Providers

After working with ERP systems for 25+ years, I’ve learned that 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬—not even the 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴. ERP projects are complex, and small missteps can lead to big challenges. 👇Here are the 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 I’ve seen (and how to avoid them): #1️. Over-Customization: Trying to mold the ERP to match every single process? You’ll end up with high costs, longer timelines, and a maintenance nightmare. ↳ Instead, adapt your processes to fit standard ERP functionalities wherever possible. #2️. Skipping Change Management: ERP success isn’t just about technology; it’s about people. Underestimating user training and change management leads to poor adoption and ROI. ↳ Invest in education and support from Day 1. #3️. Focusing Only on Today’s Needs: Your ERP should grow with your business. Planning for immediate requirements without scalability in mind results in expensive rework later. ↳ Choose a system that aligns with your long-term strategy. #4️. Ignoring Data Quality: "Garbage in, garbage out" isn’t just a cliché. Migrating bad data to a new system can cripple your operations. ↳ Clean and validate data before migration. #5. Lack of Contingency Planning: Assuming everything will go smoothly is a common but critical mistake. ↳ Plan for risks like delays, resource turnover, and system downtime. ↳ Build contingency into your timeline and budget. #6. Rushing the Go-Live: Pressure to hit deadlines often leads to skipping testing phases. A poorly tested ERP can cause chaos post-launch. Take the time to do it right! 💡 𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Treat ERP projects as a strategic business initiative, not just an IT implementation. The right approach can transform your operations; the wrong one can lead to expensive failures. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in ERP projects? Share your experiences below—I’d love to discuss! 👇 Shobha Moni.

You're choosing your ERP vendor based on presentation skills. That's why half of implementations fail. Quote from a client: "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 '𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯' 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵." He spent 3 months in demos and ended up picking the vendor that "presented best." Then reality hit during rollout.  Half the customization promises were smoke and mirrors.  The system didn't fit how they actually work.  Expensive and morale-killing. Here's what I see happen in most ERP selections: Companies sit through demo after demo.  Every vendor shows the polished version: ☑️ Perfect workflows ☑️ Seamless integrations ☑️ Automation everywhere But demos aren't built on your data.  They're scripted to AVOID the messy edge cases that actually break your processes. The vendors that close deals aren't always the most competent.  They're the best presenters. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘀: 👉 Ask them to show you your trickiest workflow. Not their cleanest example.  Pick an exception case that happens 3 times a month and requires 4 of your people to touch it. 👉 Talk to their references, but not just the ones they give you.  Go find companies in your network who implemented the same system.  Ask what broke after go-live. 👉 Focus on the implementation partner, not just the software.  The ERP might be solid, but it's optimized for broad market appeal, not industry nuance.  If the team configuring it doesn't understand your industry, you'll end up with expensive workarounds. And promises that never materialize.  I've seen companies choose the wrong vendor because the sales team was polished and the demo looked clean. Six months into implementation, they had to delay go-live and bring in industry specialists just to get the system to work for their basic processes. Competence and polish aren't the same thing.  And by the time you discover which one you bought, it's expensive to fix. Unless you're asking the right questions during selection. What's the best advice you've gotten (or wish you'd gotten) before signing an ERP contract? #ERP #VendorSelection #DigitalTransformation

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

The absolute most disruptive issue I've seen with manufacturing companies who go live with Dynamics 365 F&O is finding out that their solution is not fit for purpose. I'm not talking about choosing the wrong business application - many companies do a decent work of considering pros and cons before updating their ERP. What I'm talking about is a solution design that is so poor to be a complete mismatch with what the client needs. For example, specifically for manufacturing: 1. Production includes by-products , but these have not been taken into account so the entire solution is set up with discrete manufacturing and some components are not tracked in the system at all. 2. Production scheduling is done on an external software, whose integration with Dynamics was not designed to handle data flows correctly, so the production dates don't sync between the two applications. 3. Some production steps are externalised (supplies do them) or flexible (components need swapping), but these cases have been neglected, so the production execution becomes so rigid that orders are stuck unless workarounds with dirty data are performed. These cases can be extremely disruptive for operations after go-live. They're also very expensive to fix - in the worst case, we're talking about a full re-implementation because the solution design is so shockingly bad that it can't be salvaged at all. The best way to avoid similar disasters is to: - Map all use cases with branches - Stress-test the solution design - Involve users in testing early Needless to say, your Microsoft partner may not be the right actor to do any of the above. So rely on an external independent advisor, or build up a competent internal team for the implementation. Or both. Or pay the consequences later.

Want to beat the 70% ERP failure rate? Fix these 5 mistakes before you start. After decades of ERP projects, I keep seeing the same mistakes repeat. Here’s what actually trips companies up: 1️⃣ Inadequate Planning → Scope, budget, risk, and resources get ignored → “Failure to plan is planning to fail.” → No surprise when the project hits trouble 2️⃣ Underestimating BAU Impact → Staff get stretched too thin → Project work piles on top of daily duties → Teams burn out before launch even happens 3️⃣ Skipping Serious Testing → I spoke to a prospect last week → They plan to go live in 6 weeks but have not finished testing (yikes!) → Skipping testing is walking on thin ice-issues WILL show up later 4️⃣ Poor Communication With Stakeholders → Stakeholders get left out → No clear channel for updates or feedback → Teams lose support when it matters most 5️⃣ Ignoring Resistance To Change → People push back on new systems → Change feels risky, not helpful → Teams need to know the “why” and see the benefits ERP ISN’T JUST SOFTWARE-IT’S A TRANSFORMATION. Avoid these mistakes and you’re already ahead of most projects. We see this over and over: → Companies who get these basics right save time, money, and headaches → Companies who don’t pay double fixing problems later How does your team prepare for ERP projects?

4 different conversations I've had about D365 #erp projects... 4 different reasons why they didn't go so well... 🪦 1. Hired the wrong Microsoft Partner 🪦 (Okay- hindsight is brilliant I know...) What went wrong: They picked the name brand. The PowerPoint looked sharp. 📊 But by month two, they were getting templated advice from juniors flown in straight from college. 🤦♀️🤦♀️ The real problem: ❌ Unlike the pre-sales guys- no deep Manufacturing industry understanding on the project ❌ Lack of senior consultants from the beginning What to do instead: ✅ Interview the actual consultants who’ll be doing the work ✅ Ask how they’ve handled your industry and your use cases ✅ Consider a hybrid model: a boutique SI + independent contractors who’ve done this 10+ times 🪦 2. Underestimated Data Migration Complexity 🪦 Garbage in 🔁 Garbage Out. What went wrong: They thought it was just “extract, transform, load.” But half their legacy data was junk, 20% of their logic was in spreadsheets, and nobody knew which field drove forecasting. The real problem: ❌ They started building without understanding the mess they were building on. ❌ Nobody really took ownership of the data internally What to do instead: ✅ Run a mock migration early- even if it’s dirty ✅ Hire a contractor who’s lived through bad data nightmares ✅ Map out your data owners, not just your data fields 🪦 3. Didn't appoint an internal Solution Architect 🪦 Not knowing what you don't know. What went wrong: The SI owned the design. Internal teams were too busy. Nobody questioned the “best practices.” Six months in, they realized the workflows didn’t actually fit how the business ran. The real problem: ❌ No one was translating business reality into ERP design (or documenting it properly) ❌ Once the Partner team left, so did all the knowledge What to do instead: ✅ Appoint an internal SA or hire one short-term ✅ Make them responsible for functional integrity- DOCUMENT IT ALL ✅ Challenge the partner’s assumptions/decisions pragmatically: using an expert 🪦 4. Scrapped Organizational Change Management 🪦 Felt like the easiest way to cut the budget... What went wrong: They cut the OCM plan when budget pressure hit. “Users will figure it out. It’s just a new system, right?” 1 hour PowerPoint for training 🙅♀️🙅♀️ The real problem: ❌ Nobody owned behavioral adoption. So guess what? ❌ People resisted. Power users bailed. The workarounds came fast and furious. What to do instead: ✅ Keep OCM in the core budget- not as a nice-to-have ✅ Involve the users in the change plan EARLY ✅ Start building your internal change agents before you even select a system What have you seen on an ERP project recently? #erp #d365 #implementation #contractors