Top 5 causes of ERP failures – the dog ate my homework
This is my third article in a series aimed at small businesses interested in acquiring an ERP. In this article, I’ll discuss the often-overlooked requirement that customer staff (i.e. your) must do a large number of tasks in order to get their ERP up and running.
For the last 18 years, I have dedicated myself to helping small clients (less than 100 million in sales) with their ERP systems, focusing on Dynamics GP but also working with other systems in the past. I stopped being surprised a long time ago when I ran into a client two weeks after my last visit and found that nothing was done while I was gone.
The dog ate my homework
It’s a cliché but it sounds so true. It’s no different than my teens telling me they didn’t get a chance to work on their homework … except that most of a client’s employees have something important to do – make money (at least they’re not playing XBox)! !
Customers are often too busy to do their homework when they have an ERP project they are working on. This is not always because they avoid work, it is often because they are so overwhelmed with their day to day that they don’t have time to work on it.
Avoidance can be caused by lack of understanding and fear of appearing foolish; therefore, it is easier to keep silent and hope it will go away. It can also be caused by someone who is legitimately unable to perform the task (incompetent) and will often argue and fight with consultants that the task is not necessary.
In a Dynamics GP implementation we were working on, our client needed to reboot three times. This doesn’t reflect well on us, but it came down to a critical team member who argued incessantly that they didn’t need to perform certain critical tasks. Dynamics GP has certain requirements, and no matter how many times we asked, begged and begged they would, they wouldn’t. We eventually came to the conclusion that the person might not know how to do the homework and was too embarrassed to admit it. We sent our advisor to sit with them and help them.
Ultimately, the cause may be the overwhelming nature of the work and the tendency of many people (including this author) to wait until the last minute to get things done.
The flip side, which is often the case, are those who are simply too busy to do these tasks. This can only be overcome by strong project management where they assign someone to cover for that person while they focus on ERP, or they reassign the task so someone else can do it. Either way, it takes someone to monitor and manage the process to spot those people who (through no fault of their own) have to work on the critical task at hand (do their job) rather than the important but non-urgent ERP tasks. .
I have seen and heard of system upgrades performed where there is more overcrowding than for a midterm freshman! Entering data and clearing lists in the days prior to activating the switch is common. To make sure your ERP startup runs smoothly, make sure your people do their homework. You are spending a lot of money on consultants; hire a temp to help you if necessary; worth the effort.
An interesting and possibly very useful business that I came across a few weeks ago (at a trade show in Orlando) actually outsources the task. This sounds like a dream I had in high school, but this business really takes the task of cleaning data off your hands. They specialize in debugging and correcting data accuracy in information drawn from legacy ERP systems. This could be a great idea for businesses that are sure to have a hard time cleaning their data.
However, none of these ideas can help you ensure that your employees work on their assignments and practice. The need to practice and study properly for ERP is something that cannot be delegated. Users who are going to use the system should make sure they know how to do their job before it goes live. Otherwise, you will have serious problems.
In general, doing your homework while implementing ERP is just as critical as any other step you can imagine. Saying that the dog ate it is not going to make it any better.