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October is here — the season of pumpkins, cobwebs, and mysterious late-night project calls. While most people are decorating their homes with skeletons, ERP Project Managers are busy exorcising their own ghosts: scope creep, zombie timelines, and phantom data. So grab your pumpkin spice latte, light a metaphorical campfire, and let’s share a few ERP horror stories every PM knows too well… The ERP Horror Stories The Ghost Stakeholder They appeared at the Kickoff… and then vanished into thin air. No sign-offs. No feedback. But like any good ghost, they’ll reappear months later asking, “Wait, when did we agree to […]

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There are two kinds of project teams. The ones who swear, “We’ll never do that again,” and then do exactly that again. The ones who run lessons learned and actually change how they work. Only one of these teams finishes with fewer scars and more cake. Lessons learned are the unglamorous secret sauce of project management. They are part detective work, part therapy, part continuous improvement. And yes, they can be funny, because if we cannot laugh at the time we deployed to production on a Friday, we might cry.   The serious bit: what lessons learned actually do 1) […]

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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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Some consultants will identify the top 10 ERP systems or just consider them in software selection projects. These systems have the largest customer base and typically have: Modern user interfaces Invested large sums in R&D to take advantage of new technology like AI. Invested large sums in security. But should you also consider lesser-known systems that cater to a specific industry? Advantages of Lesser-Known ERP Systems They are usually industry specific and also include business processes optimized for the industry and industry experts to implement the system. Licensing and implementation are usually less expensive. They are often less difficult to […]

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