Lessons from LeasePlan’s SAP ERP Failure
Just weeks after releasing our ranking of the top ERP failures of all-time, European-based fleet management company LeasePlan announced its massive SAP ERP failure. In this same announcement, the company also announced that it was taking a 100M Euro write-off and pulling the plug on its SAP project. What went wrong? Like many past failures […]
Is Business Intelligence the Logical Evolution of ERP Systems?
Many of our blogs talk about the significant advantages of modern ERP and associated digital transformations. Among those advantages, we have discussed how business intelligence is a key ingredient of an effective digital transformation. The last few decades have seen tremendous progress in software development and information technology enabling access to sizable amounts of stored […]
How a Good ERP Consultant is Like a Utility Infielder
Utility infielders are critical pieces of a successful baseball team. They are not everyday players and often are not even starters. They play many positions and roles, many of which are only consistent if there is an immediate or urgent need created by an injury to a starter. So, what makes them so important to […]
Oracle ERP Cloud vs. Oracle NetSuite: An Independent Third-Party Comparison
In the years we have been providing our annual technology-agnostic ranking of the top ERP systems, we have never seen one quite like the list for 2020. Not only were there some surprises on the list – particularly with Service Now, Workday, and SAP S/4HANA – but some vendor products fared better than others. This […]
Overcoming ERP Software Selection Analysis Paralysis
Consider this scenario: You have engaged a software selection consultant to help you evaluate and select a new ERP solution, you have narrowed from long to short-list, received your ERP RFPs and have viewed demonstrations. It is now time to decide. There are certainly considerations across the top few packages, but one has stood out […]
IoT Will Rock You
We are beginning to feel and recognize the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT), although most admit defining IoT (and how far it will go) is a challenge. No doubt that’s because we remain on the verge of something much bigger than we can imagine. This could be problematic in the ERP software space. […]
Golly Gee ERP Systems Are Awesome! An Attendee’s Guide to ERP User Conferences
As we head into the fall ERP user convention season, it feels similar to sitting through an endless episode of “Leave it to Beaver.” Listening to Larry Ellison at Oracle Open World, Bill McDermott at SAP’s ASUG Sapphire, Kevin Samuelson at Inforum or Darren Roos at IFS World Conference, it seems the ERP vendors’ world […]
What are the Big ERP Systems Integrators Going to be for Halloween?
System integrators (especially the big ones like Deloitte, Accenture, and Capgemini) may have to reinvent themselves. Oh my, that could be scary. We’re talking about an industry that’s been a cash cow estimated to be in excess of $220 billion dollars. They’ve been selling the same big business customized architecture applications for decades. Yet, they […]
The Top 10 ERP Systems for 2020
Disclaimer: Third Stage Consulting is an independent ERP consulting firm. Third Stage has no financial ties to ERP vendors, either directly or through parent companies or affiliates. Accordingly, the below analysis is completely technology-agnostic and 100% free of vendor bias or compensation. As we enter the home stretch of the year, many of our clients […]
Why You Should NOT Implement a New ERP System Now
Growing up in the ‘80s, I was used to hearing the phrase “just say no.” It was a term coined and used often by the US President Reagan’s wife Nancy as part of her anti-drug campaign, so the saying became ubiquitous and associated with the ‘80s. CIOs can’t seem to say “no” to drinking the […]
Your ERP Project Isn’t What You Think It Is
You are about to embark, on or are in the middle of a major ERP project that’s going to change the way your company does business. You know how critical this new technology is to your organization’s future. You understand that nothing is more important than identifying the software with the best and most advanced […]
Executive Misalignment: The #1 Threat to your ERP Implementation
We see it more often than not. Any reasonable business advisor or strategy book will tell you that you need it and you can find endless blogs and articles on the topic, yet executive misalignment is ever more prevalent in today’s business environment. While a company could potentially survive for years with some degree of […]