The Dark Secrets of an ERP Software Consultant
“Thank You For Smoking” is a fantastic film. Aaron Eckhart, aka Harvey Dent in ‘The Dark Knight,’ plays Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for cigarette companies. The film’s premise is that you can spin any problem or addiction to be positive if you’re persuasive enough.
Check out ‘Thank You For Smoking’ on IMDB: A film about “merchants of death,” lobbyists for tobacco, alcohol, and firearms.
As I often do, I see parallels between this movie and my real-life job as an ERP software and digital transformation consultant. Unfortunately, this dark comedy plays out all too often with my enterprise software clients—particularly those using manufacturing ERP software.
Confessions of an ERP Software Consultant
Dark Secret #1: ERP software customers develop a customization addiction that Big Consulting feeds.
If you’re a CIO at a company with an ERP system over ten years old, you know exactly what the problem is. You’re just in denial, my friend.
You’re addicted to ERP software customizations and don’t see any way out!
It’s easy to see how your customization habit began. Your company probably started with its ERP implementation project in the 1990s when ERP software packages were missing critical functionality. So, you had to customize to fill the gaps. It was like substituting cigarettes for food; you thought, at least we’ll lose weight!
Then when your users struggled to get information from the ERP, you came through with some snazzy custom reports built using the ERP system’s old-school development tools. Ahhh…nice.
The problem was that once you begin with reports, you’re on a slippery slope and headed towards “health problems” that are relatively inexpensive in the short term and devastatingly expensive in the long run.
Dark Secret #2: ERP software consulting can cost 5-10 times as much as the ERP software licenses themselves!
After Big Consulting tempts with customized reports, the users start complaining that the user interface (UX/UI) is clunky. So, your systems integrator obliged by doing some comforting screen changes and building new add-on “sessions” to reduce the number of clicks.
Back in the day, we consultants called these “personalizations,” which is consultant-speak for “minor” customizations. Of course, what we didn’t tell you was that we were feeding your addiction little by little, like teasing you with menthols.
It was easy, right? Like taking that first long drag on a cigarette (I’m a non-smoker myself, how ironic) and settling back into your comfy chair. Only it didn’t end there, did it? Your users wanted more. They tried to change the logic, the guts.
So, like good enablers, we consultants modified the “source code” for you. Pretty soon, you were hooked on adding more customizations. And, of course, we were perfectly content to give you another shot of nicotine.
Fast forward to today. The first step on the road to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. So, let’s clarify where you are in your “addiction cycle.” This is an intervention, my friend.
I know…why should you listen to me? I’m part of the problem. Well, all I can say in my defense is that, as Nick Naylor said in Thank You for Smoking, you’ll have to trust me on this one.
“Nick Naylor doesn’t hide the truth…he filters it.” – Thank You for Smoking.
Because I no longer work for Big Consulting, I’ve decided to come clean and be part of the solution!
So, are you experiencing the symptoms of a customization addiction? If so, what are you doing to kick the habit? It doesn’t matter what ERP system you use. A little rehab always helps—and I’m not talking celebrity rehab, either!
