February 8, 2013 from Computerworld – “California has terminated its contract with SAP in connection with a $371 million software system that was supposed to overhaul the state’s payroll system but instead ended up mired in major delays and cost overruns… The state has paid SAP $50 million so far, and is withholding about $7 million in additional payments…” Read more 180 View – There is not enough information in the article to know what went wrong. But it is unbelievable that it could happen in the first place. The article includes the observation that “Despite SAP’s history with project […]
Manufacturer sues IBM over SAP project ‘disaster’
November 9, 2012 from Computerworld – “IBM has been slapped with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit by chemical products manufacturer Avantor Performance Materials, which alleges that IBM lied about the suitability of an SAP-based software package it sells in order to win Avantor’s business… IBM represented that IBM’s ‘Express Life Sciences Solution’ … was uniquely suited to Avantor’s business,” the lawsuit states. “The Express Solution is a proprietary IBM pre-packaged software solution that runs on an SAP platform.” But Avantor discovered a different truth after signing on with IBM, finding that Express Life was “woefully unsuited” to its business and the implementation […]
Avanade sued over alleged ERP project failure
January 3, 2013 from ComputerWorld – “A half-million lines of custom code wasn’t enough to produce a viable Dynamics AX ERP (enterprise resource planning) system for point-of-sale and RFID products distributor ScanSource, according to a lawsuit it has filed against Avanade, the joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture. ScanSource reached a deal with Avanade in 2009 for an implementation of the Dynamics AX system, according to the suit, which was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The project was supposed to cost US$17 million and take 11 months, but ultimately the cost estimate grew […]
RedPrairie to acquire JDA for roughly $1.9 billion
November 1, 2012 from Logistics Management – “Supply chain and logistics software and technology providers RedPrairie and JDA Software announced today that two companies and its affiliates have entered into a definitive merger agreement… An industry source estimated that combined revenues will be in the $1 billion to $1.2 billion range, which would make them the largest best of breed provider of supply chain management software..” Read more 180 View – The consolidation continues but this time it’s with supply chain management (SCM) and not ERP, which for some may lead to the question about what is the difference between […]
Supply Chain Technology: Will WMS take over the world?
October 1, 2012 from Logistics Management – “The warehouse management systems (WMS) market is on a tear. In 2011 it grew by 10 percent over 2010 to nearly $1.3 billion, according to ARC Advisory Group, a leading supply chain management software analyst firm… The “warehouse” concept is simple in theory. After all, how difficult can it really be to manage a cavernous space filled with racks, boxes, pallets, and forklifts? In reality, the task is huge and requires the right mix of people, systems, and solutions to run smoothly. For many logistics professionals, the latter need is filled by a […]
How to Optimize Your ERP System
October 14, 2012 from The Enterprise System Spectator and written by Frank Scavo – “When it comes to ERP, most business leaders realize that it is critical to select the right system and implement it successfully. Likewise, when it comes to advice about ERP, most analysts and consultants focus on their attention on best practices for ERP vendor selection and implementation. But very few analysts pay attention to what happens after the implementation. An organization will spend many more months using an ERP system than it will selecting and implementing it. A company might take three to six months to […]
Lessons (learned)
This blog was written by Michael Burns Although I have provided consulting services for a long time and should know how to prevent problems, there is always a risk that they will occur. In this article/blog, I am going to share with you a problem I recently encountered. A client needed a new ERP system and I helped them through the process. The client had a number of unique requirements and I did my best to be precise about them in the RFP. The vendor claimed that could handle the requirements without any customization. I basically told them I did […]
Deltek Interview
This blog was written by Michael Burns On October 4, 2012 I interviewed Patrick Smith, Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications to find out what was happening at Deltek partly because Deltek will be acquired by a private equity investment firm, Thoma Bravo, LLC, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion. I wanted to know the reason for the acquisition and the impact on the management team and product roadmap. I was told that the company basically got a good offer and that it will be business as usual with a new owner. Prior to the acquisition, Deltek […]
The Simplicity and Agility of Zero-Upgrades in Cloud ERP
May 16, 2012 from The Enterprise System Spectator – “I am coming to the conclusion that a primary benefit of cloud ERP is the reduction or complete elimination of version upgrades. This observation was reinforced again this week in my one day attendance at the Plex Systems user conference in Indianapolis. Plex is a great example of what a cloud ERP vendor can accomplish by taking what I call a “zero upgrades” product strategy…” Read more 180 View – Another great article by Frank Scavo. […]
Maximizing enterprise resource planning ROI: A guide for mid size companies
April 2010 from IBM – “To determine the ROI, calculate the total costs of your solution by including components such as software, hardware, upgrades, support, maintenance, training, customization, implementation services and more. Compare those costs with the tangible benefits the investment will provide and you will have your ROI. Tangible benefits could be in the form of process improvements enforced by the ERP that have helped your company improve its efficiency, or a rise in revenues or profits because you were able to identify new opportunities.” Read more 180 View – We recently received a link to this article so […]