I've been brought in to scope ERP replacements that had already failed once, sometimes twice. The pattern is remarkably consistent: by the time I'm in the room, everyone already agrees the old system needs to go. What they don't agree on is what the new one needs to do, who decides when departments disagree, and what 'done' actually means.
The questions that should be answered before the RFP, not after
- What does this system need to do for finance, procurement, HR, and operations, specifically, not in general?
- When two departments want contradictory things, who has the authority to make the call?
- What's the quantified business case, in close-cycle time, audit findings, or manual effort, not just "the old system is outdated"?
- Which modules go first, and why that sequence and not another?
Vendors are very good at answering 'can this system do X.' They are not positioned to answer any of the four questions above, because those are organizational decisions, not product capabilities. When an ERP project starts without them answered, the project team ends up making them informally, under deadline pressure, partway through the build, which is the worst possible time.
In the ACTION™ framework, this is squarely an Assess and Clarify gap. The technology selection that everyone focuses on is actually one of the easier decisions. The harder one is agreeing what the organization actually needs before any vendor conversation starts.
Ready to find out where your organization actually stands?
A discovery call is the fastest way to find out whether you need a readiness assessment, a strategy engagement, or delivery leadership, and to see whether we're a fit.