ERP business case Archives - Innovate. Integrate. Transform. Run.

Do You Know When To Do SAP Custom Development?
Do You Know When To Do SAP Custom Development?

Do You Know When To Do SAP Custom Development?

By Bill Wood|April 11th, 2011|

Use SAP Best Business Practices For Commodity Processes But More Carefully Evaluate Competitive Processes The debate and discussion around SAP best business practices usually assumes an “either-or” mindset. Either you use the SAP best business practices as they are, or you abandon them (for more background on SAP's "Best Business Practices," see What are SAP Best Business Practices Anyway). Several commentators suggest you should not do a software vendor’s “best practices” because you adopt the [...]

SAP and Waste Management Finally Settle
SAP and Waste Management Finally Settle

SAP and Waste Management Finally Settle

By Bill Wood|May 12th, 2010|

After a contentious battle that started brewing in March of 2008, SAP and Waste Management have reached a settlement agreement. While they have not disclosed the details, it appears that the whole issue was becoming so expensive to litigate that they found moving on more cost effective. According to a CIO article published on April 9, 2009, SAP had 25–30 contract attorneys working on the litigation, which cost them millions. SAP also claimed that their legal discovery process had cost over a mi [...]

Aligning SAP Scope to Meaningful Business Requirements
Aligning SAP Scope to Meaningful Business Requirements

Aligning SAP Scope to Meaningful Business Requirements

By Bill Wood|April 13th, 2010|

I am always amazed at how many projects miss one of the most important (and relatively simple) scoping requirements. The worst part is that projects don’t just miss it, but they get it completely backward! After doing SAP projects since 1994, I still cannot believe SAP’s customers don’t use the old “Seven Habits” step of starting with the end in mind. What do I mean by that? Start Your SAP Project with Reports and Business Requirements Why do so many projects wait until they are live with some [...]

Striving for a Customer Focused Approach to Innovation 3 of 3
Striving for a Customer Focused Approach to Innovation 3 of 3

Striving for a Customer Focused Approach to Innovation 3 of 3

By Bill Wood|April 5th, 2010|

In the first two parts of this series, we looked at the current innovation paradigm. That paradigm consists mostly of two primary approaches: namely incremental innovation that looks more like continuous improvement, and a free-for-all that is more like chaos. We also looked at a third approach to innovation: leveraging existing marketing infrastructure to produce a future state narrative. That narrative acts as a future state blueprint for product or service development to move toward. Innovat [...]

From Collaboration to Innovation to Market – Toward a Working Model
From Collaboration to Innovation to Market – Toward a Working Model

From Collaboration to Innovation to Market – Toward a Working Model

By Bill Wood|March 9th, 2010|

Too often today, I see hype around various social interaction methods in the enterprise. Some companies even talk about internally adopting social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets may provide tremendous outlets for interacting with customers, gathering market intelligence, or promoting your brand. However, they can be more destructive than productive. Collaborative initiatives without a specific business purpose are disasters waitin [...]

ERP Software: Are Modifications Always a Bad Idea?
ERP Software: Are Modifications Always a Bad Idea?

ERP Software: Are Modifications Always a Bad Idea?

By Steve Phillips|January 22nd, 2010|

The religion that software modifications are universally evil comes mainly from the software industry