"7 Ways to Fail in an ERP Selection"

In the ERP and More blog, Chris Shaul describes “7 Ways to Fail in an ERP Selection.” Here is his list:

1. Choose ERP software without understanding your requirements.

2. Select ERP software without paying attention to business processes.

3. Choose ERP software because your Friend/Neighbor/Relative is using it successfully at their firm.

4. Not having the ERP vendor prove that it will support your business processes.

5. Choosing ERP software because it looks cool.

6. Let the ERP vendor tell you what you need to be doing.

7. Take the ERP vendor’s first offer without negotiating.

I think the takeaway message here is to look beneath the surface. Project success depends on really understanding the landscape: the organizational environment, the technology, and the business. Most project failures arise from incomplete action / understanding in one of these domains.