Preventing Temporary Fixes in ERP 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.

Your ERP project is in trouble if you're hearing these 6 phrases. I've sat in enough project meetings to know when things are about to go sideways. These phrases sound reasonable in the moment. But they're red flags that predict problems months down the road. 🗣️ "𝗪𝗲'𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼-𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲." No, you won't. After go-live, you're in survival mode dealing with urgent issues, not solving deferred decisions. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅: If it matters enough to discuss now, it matters enough to solve now. Document it, assign an owner, set a deadline before go-live. 🗣️ "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀." This sounds like commitment to best practices. But it's actually abdication of responsibility. Systems don't force change. People do. If you haven't planned how those process changes will happen, you're setting up resistance and workarounds. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅: Map the process changes. Train on them specifically. Explain why they matter. 🗣️ "𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁." Customization isn't always wrong. But when it becomes the default answer to every gap, you're building a maintenance nightmare. Each customization adds cost, complexity, and risk to every upgrade. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅: Ask three questions:   1. Does this support a competitive advantage?   2. Is there a configuration option we're missing?   3. What's the long-term cost of maintaining this? 🗣️ "𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀." Hope is not a change management strategy. If you're counting on people to figure it out on their own, you're underestimating resistance. Adoption doesn't happen automatically. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅: Build change management into the project plan. Identify champions early. Make adoption measurable, not assumed. 🗣️ "𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀." Translation: This project isn't actually a priority. Part-time participation guarantees delays, poor decisions, and a system that doesn't match reality. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅: If you can't staff it properly, don't start. You'll spend more time fixing a half-resourced project than doing it right. 🗣️ "𝗪𝗲'𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻." No, you won't. Migration is a data transfer project, not a cleanup project. If your data is messy now, it'll be messy in the new system. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅: Clean your data before migration. Deduplicate. Standardize. Validate. It's the difference between a system you trust and one you question. Every ERP project has problems. The difference between success and disaster is catching them when they're still fixable. And that only happens when someone actually speaks up. What phrases make you nervous in project meetings? Share your red flags in the comment. #ERPImplementation #ProjectManagement #DigitalTransformation

Our ERP didn’t fail. Our habits did. After ERP go-live, the complaint was familiar: “Procurement has become slower.” We have to find out whether the delay was coming from the system or from the way we were using it ? We reviewed a handful of delayed POs end to end... What showed up wasn’t a software issue. It was behavior ! So instead of changing the system, we changed four habits without launching any project ! Habit 1: Fix the input, not the workflow PRs were raised with placeholders and “details to follow.” We made one rule non-negotiable: No complete scope, no submission, that's it ! Cycle time dropped immediately because rework stopped looping. Habit 2: Treat master data like production equipment Duplicate vendors, old payment terms, inconsistent item descriptions. Nothing dramatic ..just neglect. We assigned ownership and a weekly 30-minute cleanup slot. No automation. No upgrade. Just discipline. Errors reduced more than any configuration change ever did. Habit 3: Stop working outside the system, then blaming it Teams were finalising decisions on email and WhatsApp and only recording them in ERP later. We reversed the order: Decision first in ERP, conversation second. Reports suddenly started making sense. Habit 4: Remove “workarounds” that feel fast but create noise Bypassing approvals to “save time” was common. So were complaints when audit questions came back later. We closed loopholes calmly and explained the WHY Not with policy threats, but with consequences. We achieved the following results : Nothing about the ERP changed. But cycle time improved. Escalations reduced. and complaints about the system quietly stopped. What this taught me ? ERP doesn’t fail procurement. It reflects procurement. If habits are weak, the system looks slow. If habits are strong, the same system starts working exactly as intended. That’s why most ERP disappointments aren’t technical...They’re behavioral. Before you blame the system, look at the habits around it. Most fixes don’t need a project. They need ownership, clarity, and consistency !

The biggest mistake in an ERP implementation is associated with "copy and paste" method, i.e. migrating old, inefficient, or broken business processes to the new system and calling it a transformation. Here's why it is such a significant error: 1. It locks in inefficiency: Your old processes likely contain manual workarounds, unnecessary approval steps, fragmented workflows, and departmental silos that were created to compensate for the limitations of your old system. Copying them directly into a modern ERP simply uses expensive, new technology to perform old, bad habits. 2. Missed opportunity for improvement: A core goal of a new ERP is to adopt industry best practices, standardize, and streamline operations. By just copying the old ways, you completely miss the chance to redesign, automate, and simplify your business processes to leverage the modern capabilities (like real-time data, native workflows, and mobile access) of the new system. 3. Leads to over-customization: Trying to force the new, standard ERP software to exactly mimic an old, unique process often requires extensive and costly customizations which will: • Increase the initial implementation cost and time. • Make future system upgrades and maintenance significantly more difficult and expensive. • Possibly void vendor support or create technical debt. 4. Data migration: A related "copy and paste" mistake is migrating all your "dirty" or un-cleansed legacy data without proper validation and cleanup. This results in "garbage in, garbage out," undermining user trust and the accuracy of the new system's reporting. An ERP implementation is a business transformation project, not just an IT upgrade. Simply copying the old world into the new system guarantees you will not realize the return on investment you hoped for.  Hit the 🔔 button in my profile. Follow #FKLim for a daily dose of sharing & tips on: #OpexCG #OpexDX #OpexAI #Siemens #Epicor #Kinaxis #Geotab #Industry40 #DigitalTransformation #OperationalExcellence #LeanSixSigma #ArtificialIntelligence #Leadership #Manufacturing #OperationsManagement #Management #Entrepreneurship