ERP projects are sold as the backbone of modern business — the highway to integration, automation, and growth.
Yet, for most organisations, they turn into detours of frustration, budget overruns, and unfinished dreams.
Why do so many ERP projects fail to deliver value?
Let’s uncover the truth.
Client Side:
- We jump into the market without truly understanding ERP — its purpose, risks, and what success actually looks like.
- We form project teams based on availability, not ability.
- Governance is weak or entirely missing.
- By the time red flags appear, half the budget is already gone.
- Change Management, Project Management, and Project Assurance arrive too late — if at all.
- There’s little to no internal capability in Data Migration, Testing, Architecture, or Business Analysis.
- The Project Sponsor’s role is unclear — no one truly owns success.
Vendor Side: Implementation Partners:
- Sales teams are rewarded for closing deals, not for delivering outcomes. Professional Services Managers protect margins; consultants chase billables. The result? Misaligned priorities and a lost customer.
- Vendor activities form only a small slice of the overall project — a truth rarely shared upfront.
- They understand products, not businesses.
- Customisation becomes a profit engine, and few vendors say “no” to extra work that erodes value.
Independent Consultants:
- They arrive as supposed saviours, spotlighting vendor flaws to justify their place.
- They magnify risks, complicate the obvious, and often create noise instead of clarity.
- Their business model thrives on proving others wrong, not making the project right.
And that’s why ERP projects so often collapse under their own weight — unfinished, unowned, and undervalued.
The antidote:
Start with clarity before you buy technology.
Educate yourself. Reflect deeply. Challenge the structure. Rebel against the status quo.
