“When ERP was in its heyday, CEOs and business executives wanted reliable and integrated solutions, so they seized upon ERP as the way to provide this,” said Mr. Kyte. “Business stakeholders still want these same qualities, but now they assume that these qualities will be present in any software solution, and their requirements have switched to the twin concerns of lowering IT costs and seeking increased flexibility. A system that is not sufficiently flexible to meet changing business demands is an anchor, not a sail, holding the business back, not driving it forward.” – Gartner Says By 2016, the Impact of Cloud and Emergence of Postmodern ERP Will Relegate Highly Customized ERP Systems to “Legacy” Status (January 29th, 2014) – Does Gartner’s “Postmodern” ERP moniker put a positive spin on what is in reality the equivalent of technology landfill? (Procurement Insights, December 6th, 2014)
What made your post jump off the page, Eric Kimberling is that we are still talking about ERP failures in 2024.
Here is a link to a white paper I wrote for the CATA Alliance in 2008 – https://bit.ly/4aIT4j2
The list of organizations in the public and private sectors that struggled with their ERP initiatives in the early 2000s reads like a Who’s Who of the business world. Again, this was more than 20 years ago.
Why is it still an issue today, or maybe a better question is if it is, in fact, still an issue.
This past week, I read two posts talking about relational contracting.
The first was by Kate Vitasek – https://bit.ly/4dqiWSj
The second post is by Andy Akrouche MBA, RCCM-I, CSM – https://bit.ly/3JIqxOK
I have been in high-tech and procurement for over 40 years and have seen much history. The archives for my Procurement Insights blog alone consist of over 2,000 articles. That does not include the countless white papers and ghostwritten articles for senior leaders from both the practitioner and provider sides.
Once again, I will return to the question: WHY, after all these decades, are we still talking about ERP failures?
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Procurement Insights 
Tahj
May 4, 2024
I don’t think the proper due diligence is being conduct, mis-alignment on visions, actual needs/requirements to solve pain points/problems, and lack of true collaboration across the business. Which all creates delayed decisions and uninformed decisions.
piblogger
May 4, 2024
Your comment is on point, Tahj!
It is the difference between an agent-based versus equation-based approach to automation (see excerpt below) – https://bit.ly/3FBnFRr
“When organizations make the mistake of leading with technology, they are bending their people and processes around an equation-based model approach in which the tech is the driver for success.
When you lead with people and process understanding – an agent-based model, technology moves from a functional driver to a problem-solving tool that streamlines and delivers efficiencies and tangible results.”
So, here is another question: How many organizations still lead with technology, such as an equation-based model?