How to Negotiate with Your ERP / HCM Vendor
After what may have been a long evaluation process, you have finally determined which ERP and HCM systems will help you achieve your digital strategies for 2020 and beyond. This is the technology that will drive business process improvements and your operational foundation for the coming years or decades. Now what? Now it’s time to […]
Why “Vanilla ERP” Doesn’t (and Can’t) Exist
Whenever I hear a client tell me “we just want a vanilla, out-of-the-box solution”, my heart sinks. I know that I now have the unenviable task of gently persuading the client that the term really doesn’t exist and that it’s an ERP industry hoax, just like “accelerators” and “standard process models.” Some clients get it, […]
Independent Review of Workday HCM Software
Workday is one of the most common HCM systems in the market today. Along with Oracle HCM, SAP SuccessFactors, Ultimate UltiPro, and other common options, HR and HRIS departments have plenty of options to choose from. It is also one of the up-and-coming systems with lots of momentum behind it. The company and its software […]
Is Big ERP Dead?
The big, integrated, traditional, and monolithic ERP systems are good for some, but not all. ERP vendors will typically push the big integrated systems like SAP S/4HANA, Oracle ERP Cloud, Microsoft Dynamics, and other leading ERP systems. Best of breed providers, on the other hand, will push their more siloed technology model. Salesforce, Workday, and […]
To Change or Not to Change: The Decision to Stay on the Green Screen
For the younger folks reading, this is a serious question. The metrics range in estimation, but there is an estimated 100,000 companies still running iSeries or AS/400 platforms. We get calls nearly every day from executives and IT managers questioning if it’s time to move from their legacy systems to one of the top-ranked ERP […]
Motivating your CORE ERP Project Team
We have previously discussed the importance of an ERP project CORE team in completing a successful ERP, HCM or other enterprise application implementation. This is the team of individuals at the project level that takes responsibility for ensuring the project plan is carried through, deals with consultants and vendors and funnels critical decisions to the […]
The Top 5 WORST ERP Software Selections of All-Time!
So maybe not of “all-time,” but certainly close. If you are considering one of the top ERP systems in the market, you will want to learn from the mistakes of others. Listed below are 5 actual case-studies of enterprise software selections gone wrong and examples of how NOT to select your ERP, CRM, HCM or […]
Private Equity: The Invisible Force in ERP Selection and Implementation
Managing the balance between reward and risk during a digital transformation is a serious responsibility requiring a clear strategic plan, vision and objectives – especially when the transformation has an ERP implementation at its heart. This is achieved by identifying and addressing any misalignments in the highest executive levels of an organization. CEOs, CFOs, and […]
How Much Does an ERP Implementation Cost?
More than anything at Third Stage Consulting, we enjoy educating and partnering with clients. While everyone would love an answer to how much an ERP implementation will cost, the reality is, it’s somewhat of a moving target. There are many critical dependencies that impact costs, and how you think about cost is important too. Let’s […]
Avoiding Land Mines During your ERP Software Selection
There are endless blogs on software evaluation best-practices and steps to take, such as documenting requirements, requesting demonstrations, negotiating, etc., and then there are the details within these steps that will crush your initiative if ignored. The phrase “The Devil’s in the details” holds very true for software evaluation. An effective ERP selection process can […]
SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud: Clash of the Titans
When considering new enterprise technologies, many of our clients consider SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud in their ERP software evaluation process. In fact, our upper mid-market and larger enterprise clients choose between these two systems on an extremely frequent basis. In the most recent rankings of the top ERP systems, it’s not surprising that […]
Undercover: “Independent” ERP Software Selection Firms
Whether your current system is approaching the end of life, your business has grown beyond the capabilities of your current ERP, or your users are complaining that the “green screen” era is dead, nearly every company faces the need for a new ERP software every decade or so. Many organizations still try to select and […]