4 reasons ERP implementations fail—and what to do about it

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is crucial to organizational operations, tying the knot between all aspects of your business. It’s so beneficial, in fact, a 2022 Gartner study showed that 53% of IT decision-makers saw an ERP as an investment priority.

But as with any change, it’s not without challenges—starting with implementation. When it’s not done right, you’ll struggle with user adoption down the line and lose confidence in the power of your investment.

The good news? These challenges are avoidable. Here are the top reasons ERP implementations fail—and what do about them:

1. Late involvement of key stakeholders

An ERP system touches every aspect of your business—from supply chain to HR and finance. Involve these stakeholders every step of the way for alignment of your system’s intended future use and process flow going forward. You’ll keep the right people in the loop, and they’ll be better able to communicate the new changes and manage disruption to their teams.

2. Unclear roles and goals

You can only move as quickly as your team. Create a clear timeline with expectations for each involved party. This will keep everyone (and the project!) on track. Another plus? Greater accountability and status tracking leads to better visibility for leadership.

3. Competing priorities across stakeholders

Integrating a new system doesn’t mean that your old processes stop—and your SMEs can’t abandon their day-to-day activities despite project demands. Resourcing is critical to keep your operations afloat. Backfilling will help rebalance your workload and create positive change with your investment.

4. Lacking a thorough scoping phase

Expectations need to be set from day one. To ensure the best fit for your organization, complete an exhaustive inventory of current operations, roles and responsibilities, and key pain points—making sure you are aware of all business requirements for design. Less change orders down the line means quicker adoption and an easier transition.

We get it. It can seem like a lot. But having the right resources in place can help guarantee a successful ERP go-live. And when it comes to project management, finance and accounting SME needs, and resourcing, we’ve got just the team: qualified across various roles, processes, and functional areas, ready to integrate seamlessly as an extension of you.

Read our case study to see us in action.