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Executive summary Operation Back to School launches at first bell. Objective: deliver small stakeholders to the correct building with shoes on feet, food in bags, and tears at or below acceptable thresholds. Success metric: nobody cries before 8:00 a.m., stretch goal includes the parent. Project charter Sponsor: whoever pays for the supplies. Project Manager: you. Business case: education is essential, and you need your laptop back. Objectives: T-0 arrival with correct backpack and a face that has met toothpaste. Repeatable morning routine with fewer than five escalations. Homework closure rate at or above 90 percent by Week 3. Scope control […]

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Ten years ago, choosing an ERP system was a lot like buying a house in a questionable neighborhood: you knew you’d be stuck with it for decades, the plumbing would eventually leak, and no one in the family agreed on the layout. Fast forward to today, and ERP has had something of a glow-up. What used to be the corporate equivalent of beige wallpaper is now more like a sleek Tesla dashboard: shiny, interconnected, and occasionally prone to mysterious software updates at 2 am. But unfortunately, the costs of ERP have also jumped just like housing costs. The Great Shift: […]

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Embarking on an ERP transformation is never easy — but learning directly from those who’ve led the charge can give you a critical edge. In this candid and practical session, Alex Miles (Partner, 180 Systems) and Tony Gareri (CEO, Roma Moulding) share the top lessons learned from Roma’s ongoing ERP and CPQ (Configurator) implementation journey. You’ll get a rare, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to select the right technology, navigate the implementation process, and build a successful partnership between client and consultant. From vendor evaluation to data migration to internal team communication, this session offers hard-earned insights and actionable […]

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There are many top 10 lists of ERP systems available but be careful what you ask or wish for. These lists are all biased in some way as they can’t possibly include the top 10 systems that are applicable to a specific organization. The top 10 systems should vary by industry, company size and geography. Industry Your needs will vary widely by industry. But even then, there are big differences for a particular industry such as manufacturing . For example, here is a list of different manufacturing types suggested by ChatGPT. Each of these will have different ERP requirements. Company […]

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There are times when defining requirements for an ERP selection process that our client would question the effort and think that we are too much in the weeds and should save this detail when evaluating the systems and implementing the system. A leaner approach does make sense for standard requirements, but if the client has complexity and unique processes, then detailed requirements are worth the effort to: Avoid costly change orders when vendors discover what is needed during the implementation – It’s sometime called scope creep and you’re damned if you make the change as it will likely delay the […]

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