The Incredible Shrinking Scope of ERP Training
We’d love to hear from you if you have been involved in a project that had adequate time to prepare and deliver quality training for your ERP implementation! Unfortunately, for this blogger, this is a...
View ArticleWhich Factor had the Greatest Weight in Your ERP Selection Project?
The selection of the ERP vendor is a very important decision. The costs and benefits of your ERP project are strongly correlated with the vendor you selected, therefore there is intrinsic link between...
View ArticleExecuting a Successful SAP Implementation
It is common for companies to jump into an SAP project without first conducting the due diligence and planning required to make the project successful. Often times, organizations select an SAP solution...
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Generating Business to IT Alignment for a Successful ERP Implementation
An ERP implementation is the implementation of a business solution. In order to be effective there must be alignment between business and their IT partners (internal IT organization, implementation...
View ArticleThe Mother of ERP Implementations
Ever Thought You Might Need Another Mother? When you select a ERP consulting company to manage your ERP implementation, they should essentially become the mother to your enterprise software. Like mom,...
View ArticleThe Best ERP Blogs of 2010 (So Far)
Ever since Panorama started in 2005, frequent blogging has been one of our keys to sharing insights and client experience with the ERP community. Over the years, we have focused on sharing best...
View ArticleDoes Your ERP Requirements Gathering Process Need a Diet?
Healthy ERP requirements’ gathering begins with knowledge. The task at hand is huge. It is a real challenge to keep it from getting obese and over-inflated. Don’t be the “Biggest Loser”. Remember you...
View ArticleThe Strategy of War and the Art of ERP Selection
Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher, said in “The Art of War”: “The rules of the military are five: measurement, assessment, calculation, comparison, and victory....
View ArticleWhen Preparing for an ERP Implementation, Remember to Have Your Vitals...
Many companies look at an ERP implementation as just another IT project. “Get the software in and make it work” executives say, “it’s not surgery!” It actually is more like surgery than they may think....
View ArticleWhere’s my Advil, I Have an ERP Headache!
Grab the Advil! I have a headache. A really big, oversized ERP headache. The Swinging Door of ERP Consultants As a former implementation lead on the client side, I can attest that the practice of...
View ArticleThirty-Five Guiding Principles for Every ERP Project Manager
Project Managers are leaders and managers. While their focus is generally centered on managing the actual ERP project, they always need to lead and manage themselves first. Over the years I’ve had a...
View ArticleWhat Should You Consider When Negotiating Contracts With Your ERP Vendor?
With all the business software available in today’s market, finding a good ERP system isn’t too tough. However, finding the one that is the best fit for your unique needs can be somewhat challenging...
View ArticleERP Boot Camp: Arm Yourself, Prepare for Battle, and Make Your ERP...
Embarking on an ERP implementation can feel like going to battle: the process can be grueling and time consuming, money and jobs are at stake, and the odds are stacked against you. In months past I’ve...
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Episode One of the ERP Reality Series: Software Selection
The ERP project kickoff is an important step in the software selection process. Even though it’s typically a short meeting with the executive steering committee, project core team, and SME’s, it serves...
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Day One Report from 2010 ERP Boot Camp
We had a very informative and energetic first day of ERP Boot Camp yesterday here in Denver. With over 20 ERP project managers, executive sponsors, and CIOs in attendance, we have a diverse group with...
View ArticleDay Two Report from ERP Boot Camp
Yesterday was the second day of ERP Boot Camp, which was another success packed with tons of information. We started the day with a case study of a recent ERP failure and lawsuit, which prompted a...
View ArticleDay Three Report from ERP Boot Camp
We closed out the 2010 ERP Boot Camp with a bang in Denver on Friday afternoon. We had a chance to tie together everything we had learned and start applying concepts to real world situations. First, we...
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Ballin’ on a Budget: Tips for Promoting Your Change Management Project on a...
The economy may be in the tanker but that doesn’t mean project communications have to follow suite. In fact, now more than ever, people want to be in the know. These days especially, silence has a...
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Only a Master Builder With a Strong Blueprint Can Create a Solid ERP Foundation
Would you build a new house without an approved construction plan? Most likely the answer to that question would be no. Would you implement a new ERP system without an approved implementation plan?...
View Article20 Things Every CIO Should Know Before Starting an ERP Implementation
In early December, Panorama hosted its first ERP Boot Camp for the public. Approximately 25 CIOs, IT Managers, and Project Managers attended the interactive 3-day training session, which was...
View ArticleAre You Ready to Start Your ERP Implementation in the New Year?
‘Tis the season where many ERP vendors are trying to meet their Q4 and year-end numbers, so they are often willing to do what it takes to get a deal done. Aggressive pricing with time limits, executive...
View ArticleCovering All Your Bases: The Importance of ERP System Training
Spring training is finally here! To a seasoned baseball fan, it means the anticipation of a World Series Championship, warm days and cool summer evenings sitting in the grandstands, hot dogs and...
View ArticleThe Myth of “Redundant” Business Process Blueprinting
Everyone loves success stories – perhaps most of all those of us in the ERP software implementation world. But success is a relative term. When someone tells you, ”We had a successful ERP...
View ArticleKing of Pain: Are ERP Systems as Hard as They Seem?
Our consulting teams are in the process of helping several companies across the country with their ERP selection and vendor contract negotiations. This is the point in an ERP software project where...
View ArticleField Report from Panorama’s 2011 ERP Boot Camp
This year’s first ERP Boot Camp was another success, with 23 participants from all over the world gathered in Denver last week to discuss lessons and best practices for their ERP initiatives. This...
View ArticleFive Most Common ERP Implementation “Gotchas”: Patience Truly is a Virtue
Maybe it’s not grammatically correct, but “gotchas” are those little mistakes that sneak up on you and ultimately ruin the project you’re working on. I think we’ve all had our fair share of “gotcha”...
View ArticleUnderstanding the Difference Between a Business Blueprint and an ERP Systems...
When Panorama Consulting engages in ERP systems projects with our clients, a key first step in the implementation process is to define a business blueprint. Most ERP vendors claim to do some form of...
View ArticleBringing PR Principles Into Your Organizational Change Management Initiative
As Panorama has seen again and again, ERP implementations can be enormously disruptive to staff members. Feeling threatened, confused, or even angry, end-users can both consciously and unconsciously...
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Leaning Towards Better ERP System Utilization
There are those that say that once a business goes lean it should eliminate its ERP system. That is not true. At most, the business’s ERP system can be simplified – but not eliminated. A company still...
View ArticleOMG and LOL: How Will the New Generation of Employees Interact with ERP Systems?
I’m just young enough to be addicted to text messaging, but not young enough to fully engage in text talk. Rather than texting someone a message saying LOL (laugh out loud), I’d prefer to actually...
View ArticleProject Leadership Versus Management in an ERP Implementation
Which is more important for the success of an ERP implementation: project/technical management skills or project leadership skills? Before getting into the answer, lets try to define both management...
View ArticleTips for Managing ERP Software Vendors
In 2009, Panorama published our Tips for Managing ERP Software Vendors During the Software Selection Process white paper (it’s the fourth from the top if you click through that link). Reading through...
View ArticleCan Traditional Project Management Keep Its Place in the IT World?
Revelations about the IT failures of the new millennium suggest not! A recent study of over 1,400 organizations reveals some startling new facts about mega-failures in IT, including huge overruns....
View ArticleManaging Expectations Through Effective Communication
One of the most important roles provided by external consultants contracted to support the ERP software selection, implementation, and post-implementation processes is the managing of expectations...
View ArticleThe Perils of a Micromanaged ERP System Implementation
As anyone who has ever been micromanaged by a supervisor can tell you, its effects can be disastrous. But when it’s undertaken by a leader in a project as important as an ERP implementation, the...
View ArticleWhat You Should Know About ERP Systems and SOX Compliance
Nearly a decade after the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) at publicly traded US-based companies, the verdict is still out on whether or not the law has had a material impact on fraud,...
View ArticlePinch Hitters’ Guide to Six Sigma and ERP
Six Sigma is a term companies equate to resource overload, too much money, and time consumption, which can certainly act as a deterrent for companies focused on the bottom line. However, because ERP...
View ArticleBest Practices to Manage End-to-End Business Processes in Your ERP System
It’s no secret that most ERP systems fail to deliver the business benefits anticipated by the organizations implementing the software. More specifically, our 2012 ERP Report reveals that 50-percent of...
View ArticleHow to Keep ERP Project Goals in Sight
When an organization begins the process of ERP software selection and implementation, saving money is usually at the top of the list of expected benefits. In business speak, this simple idea is often...
View ArticleStart Me Up: Planning for a Successful ERP Implementation
We recently kicked off a multi-site ERP implementation for one of our large aerospace and defense clients. Given the fact that, according to our 2012 ERP Report, most ERP implementations take longer...
View ArticleGot PM?
While PM sounds like something terrible that you get once a year – like the whooping cough or a bad case of the itchy-scratchies –if your company is implementing an ERP system without a dedicated,...
View ArticleScope Creep: The Kudzu Vine of ERP Implementations
Kudzu vine is an invasive species that spreads out over buildings and fields, suffocating all in its path in a soulless quest for domination. It’s kind of reminiscent of ERP implementation scope creep...
View ArticleReporting Back: The Importance of Closed Loop Feedback in ERP Implementations
Successfully implementing ERP software requires two-way communication. This is not only important between an ERP project team and end-users – it is also applicable to the project manager and team...
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The Long-Term Effects of Heavy ERP System Customization
“No customization” is one of the most common mantras we hear about ERP systems among our global client base. “After all, ERP vendors have spent billions of dollars in research and development over the...
View ArticleProject Management in the Public Sector
What happens when project managers with high job security are put in charge of an ERP implementation with an inherently high chance of failure? In light of the recent Obamacare IT failure, this is a...
View ArticleFive Qualities of an Effective Project Manager
Throughout my career, I have seen both great and not-so-great project managers. I have worked with clients who had billions of dollars at stake and could face severe liquidated damages if their...
View ArticleHow Innovative is Your ERP Consultant?
Innovation is a hot buzzword in the public sector. As described by Rasmus Hansen and Jens Skibsted, “The new breed of innovation professionals can be placed in two categories: innovation custodians and...
View ArticleFive Qualities of an Effective Project Manager
Throughout my career, I have seen both great and not-so-great project managers. I have worked with clients who had billions of dollars at stake and could face severe liquidated damages if their...
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Clash of the ERP Project Managers: Change Management or No Change Management?
In our 2014 Clash of the Titans Report, we outline a quantifiable comparison of SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics – the leading ERP vendors in the industry. While this report has helped numerous...
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Unpacking the ERP Software Proposal: Murky Terminology
The ERP software selection process isn’t without its share of pitfalls and ambiguities. Few of these challenges are intentionally caused by ERP vendors and their sales reps, but a number of oversights...
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