Series Introduction Note: The next 3 parts of this series contain step-by-step instructions and pointers on managing the RFP process (Part 2), conducting the vendor selection (Part 3), and how to use the blueprint process to correct any discrepancies and lay a solid foundation for success (Part 4).
If you are an IT decision maker and you’re tired of pressure to achieve results that your system vendors or integrators can’t seem to deliver, use these steps to get the most for your money and achieve breakthrough results. Much of this article can be applied to any major project effort your company undertakes. While some of the suggestions offered here can seem harsh or difficult from a people management perspective they can make a huge difference in your career prospects, credibility, and any future budget requests.
Neutralizing the vendor proposal scams, clearing the smoke and looking past the mirrors for your ERP, SAP, or technology project requires a little clarity up front before you start your vendor selection. It is possible to achieve breakthrough business results using technology and business software systems like SAP if you approach your project with the right perspective.
That Jewel They Are Selling You Is Not a Diamond
Promises, sales scams, smoke, mirrors, and vendor proposals, you’ve heard it all before– the sales pitch promise you a valuable, durable diamond, but all you get is very expensive and very fragile glass.
What these sales pitches never tell you and never deliver on is the “how” for using their poorly constructed solution (or in the case of the analogy, for carving their pieces of glass).
Fairy Tales and Vendor Selection Promises
I have been on lots of projects where someone dreams up mutually exclusive requirements. These are things that are completely contradictory, the “either/or” logic gates. You can have one or the other, but you cannot have both.
Lots of presentations have the salesperson making promises that no one can deliver on. Then, reality sets in after you have signed the contract and the salesperson leaves. You begin to notice subtle cracks throughout the “precious jewels” that were supposed to be durable. But this usually happens very slowly over time. You see a few cracks here and there, but you get used to it and think that is just the way it is. You dismiss early signs that there may be something wrong, or you chalk it up to isolated incidents. After you transition to a live environment and it is too late, you suddenly realize it was not a diamond you were getting but rather a shard of glass.
When someone on the project has to deliver on the salesperson’s promises, some members of the vendor selection team are no longer involved in the day-to-day project delivery of those sales promises. Even if they are, they often forget everything that was promised. They only remember a few of the pet peeves they saw or heard during the presentation.
After the sales pitches and the promises, what you end up with are blown technology project budgets, blown technology project timelines, and buggy custom-coded solutions for prepackaged applications. Fear not, you can do things to reduce the risk of these results. And even if you are misled by a vendor, you can do things after you start with that vendor to ensure you don’t get taken.
Getting the Most Out of Your Technology Investment
You have several opportunities in early stages of your SAP, ERP, or other technology project to lay the groundwork for genuine breakthrough results. Along with the breakthrough results, these early steps can set the tone and foundation for a very successful, on-time, and on-budget project. With this knowledge, companies have no reason to continue getting taken by some of the unscrupulous or questionable practices in the technology and IT marketplace.
Even after you have selected your system integrator or implementation vendor, you still have several chances to ensure they deliver their very best: the very best tools, resources, and quality of workmanship. If you change out questionable consultants early in your project, then you set a clear expectation of the caliber and quality of resources you will accept from your vendor. Doing this early before they can do serious damage is best.
General Patton once said that “War is Hell!” and business in today’s global economy is war! The question you need to ask yourself is if you are in a war in the marketplace, do you want raw recruits who are going to go through boot camp at your company, on your dime? Or do you want veteran Navy Seals, Marine Snipers, and Airborne Rangers? Raw recruits are usually cheaper, and the experience from those veterans comes at a cost, but who do you think will give you the best chance at winning the war for marketplace position?
Let me tell you, that Marine Sniper will hit his targets at a thousand yards. On the other hand, the raw recruits will not only miss, but in doing so also give away your position and open you up to attack. In the end, you decide which is more important. You decide if it is better to take your chances, or to take steps to ensure you are not paying Navy Seal prices for raw recruits.
There are three key events or timeframes early in the project when you can create the best environment for breakthrough project success. Two of these areas have no risk and at all, and one of them contains a moderate amount of risk. These three key events are the following:
- During business case development, RFP creation, and first pass rough project scoping;
- The actual vendor selection process, vendor proposal reviews, and system integrator contract;
- During and at the end of the blueprint process.
These key events contain several ways you can take control of your own business destiny and ensure the technology investment you make will move your business forward.
Four Part Series:
Achieve Breakthrough ERP, SAP, or IT Project Success: 1 of 4
Breakthrough Project Success: 2 of 4, IT Vendor Proposal RFP
Breakthrough Project Success: 3 of 4, Vendor Selection and Contracts
Breakthrough Project Success: Part 4 of 4, Last Low Risk Chance for Results
Good article. An ERP implementation is pretty much the same. They are all hard. Correctly planned and broken down, they are not hugely complicated. They are long and demanding. A successful ERP implementation is a lot like a successful marathon; finishing with a good time and with a minimum amount of damage. “Doing the work” in the right amounts and at the right times will always pay a company back. Completing an ERP implementation with success is a very gratifying experience. There is so much that goes into it and it impacts so many different groups of people, it is critically important.