{"id":1338,"date":"2024-01-01T19:12:20","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T19:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/expert\/?p=1338"},"modified":"2024-02-02T14:42:33","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T14:42:33","slug":"the-dark-secrets-of-an-erp-software-consultant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/the-dark-secrets-of-an-erp-software-consultant\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Secrets of an ERP Software Consultant"},"content":{"rendered":"

“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.<\/p>\n

Check out ‘Thank You For Smoking’ on IMDB: A film about “merchants of death,” lobbyists for tobacco, alcohol, and firearms.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/h5>\n

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\u2014particularly those using manufacturing ERP software.<\/p>\n

Confessions of an ERP Software Consultant<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

Dark Secret #1:\u00a0ERP software customers develop<\/strong>\u00a0a customization addiction that Big Consulting feeds<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re a CIO at a company with an ERP system over ten years old, you know exactly<\/strong>\u00a0what the problem is. You\u2019re just in denial, my friend.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re addicted to ERP software customizations and don\u2019t see any way out!<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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\u2019ll lose weight!<\/p>\n

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\u2026nice.<\/p>\n

The problem was that once you begin with reports, you\u2019re on a slippery slope and headed towards \u201chealth problems\u201d that are relatively inexpensive in the short term and devastatingly expensive in the long run.<\/p>\n

Dark Secret #2:\u00a0ERP software consulting can cost 5-10 times as much as the ERP software licenses themselves!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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 \u201csessions\u201d to reduce the number of clicks.<\/p>\n

Back in the day, we consultants called these \u201cpersonalizations,\u201d which is consultant-speak for \u201cminor\u201d customizations. Of course, what we didn\u2019t tell you was that we were feeding your addiction little by little, like teasing you with menthols.<\/p>\n

It was easy, right? Like taking that first long drag on a cigarette (I\u2019m a non-smoker myself, how ironic) and settling back into your comfy chair. Only it didn\u2019t end there, did it? Your users wanted more. They tried to change the logic, the guts.<\/p>\n

So, like good enablers, we consultants modified the \u201csource code\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to today. The first step on the road to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. So, let\u2019s clarify where you are in your \u201caddiction cycle.\u201d This is an intervention<\/em>, my friend.<\/p>\n

I know\u2026why should you listen to me? I\u2019m part of the problem. Well, all I can say in my defense is that, as Nick Naylor said in Thank You for Smoking, you\u2019ll have to trust me on this one.<\/p>\n

\u201cNick Naylor doesn\u2019t hide the truth\u2026he filters it.\u201d \u2013 Thank You for Smoking.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h5>\n

Because I no longer work for Big Consulting, I\u2019ve decided to come clean and be part of the solution!<\/p>\n

So, are\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0experiencing the symptoms of a customization addiction? If so, what are you doing to kick the habit? It doesn\u2019t matter what ERP system you use. A little rehab always helps\u2014and I\u2019m not talking celebrity rehab, either!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":794,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dark Secrets of an ERP Software Consultant<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dan Aldridge, an ERP Software Expert, talks about the secrets of being an ERP consultant and pulls parallels from the film "Thank You For Smoking."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dark Secrets of an ERP Software Consultant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dan Aldridge, an ERP Software Expert, talks about the secrets of being an ERP consultant and pulls parallels from the film "Thank You For Smoking."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/the-dark-secrets-of-an-erp-software-consultant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Solutions Review Thought Leaders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-01T19:12:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-02T14:42:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Aldridge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DanAldridge1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Aldridge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/the-dark-secrets-of-an-erp-software-consultant\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/the-dark-secrets-of-an-erp-software-consultant\/\",\"name\":\"The Dark Secrets of an ERP Software Consultant\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-01T19:12:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-02T14:42:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/#\/schema\/person\/2814381a870781082d1be1070240aab3\"},\"description\":\"Dan Aldridge, an ERP Software Expert, talks about the secrets of being an ERP consultant and pulls parallels from the film \\\"Thank You For Smoking.\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/the-dark-secrets-of-an-erp-software-consultant\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/the-dark-secrets-of-an-erp-software-consultant\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/the-dark-secrets-of-an-erp-software-consultant\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Dark Secrets of an ERP Software Consultant\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/\",\"name\":\"Solutions Review Thought Leaders\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/#\/schema\/person\/2814381a870781082d1be1070240aab3\",\"name\":\"Dan Aldridge\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/thought-leaders\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c88c75b0adc6525fc20a8592378e7727?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c88c75b0adc6525fc20a8592378e7727?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Aldridge\"},\"description\":\"Dan has 25+ years of corporate management experience including CEO, CFO and Controller of the consulting firm he founded and grew for 13 years. 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