Why is implementing an ERP so challenging?

Short answer

When implementing an ERP solution there is much more involved than just technology.

Long answer

Technology is the easy part. Changing the organization and its (hidden) habits is a lot more cumbersome. The business transformation part is typically seriously underestimated.

If asked to estimate the effort distribution on a typical project, we would suggest

• 30% technology
• 70% business transformation

As a matter of fact, humans don’t like to change. This is how our brains have been designed during our evolution. More than 80% of our time, we are just executing routines. Over many years, our brains have been trained to ‘stick to routines’. Reconsidering every action just consumes way to much energy and slows us down. In threatening situations, we have to be able to react in less than a second. Out in the wild, solid routines save our live.

When implementing an ERP you replace all fundaments on which organizations have been running their processes. Common routines don’t exist anymore, and new routines have to be installed. Business transformation does not happen overnight.

In our blog post 20 things you should know about ERP implementations we not only explain some typical ERP implementation pitfalls, but we also provide some help regarding how to avoid them.

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