News & Views

December 2009 from IDC sponsored by Agresso – “… A recent IDC survey shows that the negative impact of business disruptions attached to ERP modification is simply too high: a 20.9% decline in stock price, a 14.3% revenue loss due to delayed product launched, and a 16.6% decline in customer satisfaction. Reported losses from survey respondents making ERP changes range from $10 million to over $500 million…

IDC also found that tailoring or customizing a rigid ERP solution to meet a company’s requirements is fraught with peril…”

180 View – The article was based on a survey by IDC of 214 business executives mostly in the US and who worked for companies for which 85% of them had revenues greater than $100 million. The report does not reveal the ERP systems used by these companies. The report also does not explain what is meant by rigid ERP solutions. Considering the size of the companies in question, it is likely that most of the ERP systems used were high-end systems, and you can bet that the vendors of these high-end systems will sing the praises of their agile and customizable system. The problems of customization are not just attributable to the tools but also to the methodology deployed and the business case or lack of business case supporting the change.