Industry studies routinely find that half of ERP projects overrun their budgets or timelines. Having rescued our share of stalled projects, we see the same five mistakes again and again. All of them are avoidable.
1. Automating a broken process
An ERP encodes your processes in software. If a process is chaotic before implementation, the ERP makes it faster chaos. Map and simplify critical workflows first, then configure the system to match the improved version.
2. Big-bang scope
Trying to launch every module across every department on one date multiplies risk. Phase the rollout: stabilize the core (sales, purchasing, inventory, accounting) first, then layer on manufacturing, ecommerce or advanced analytics. Each phase builds confidence and momentum.
3. Treating data migration as an afterthought
Dirty data is the silent killer of go-lives. Duplicate customers, stale price lists and mismatched stock counts surface at the worst possible moment. Start data cleanup early, assign clear owners, and run at least one full migration rehearsal before launch.
4. Skipping real training
A two-hour demo the week before go-live is not training. People need to practice their actual daily tasks in a test environment, make mistakes safely, and know who to ask when stuck. Budget training time per role, not per company.
5. No ownership after go-live
Launch is the beginning, not the end. Without an internal owner and a responsive support partner, small annoyances go unfixed, workarounds multiply, and two years later everyone is back in spreadsheets. Plan the support model before you launch, not after things wobble.
Avoiding all five
Our five-step methodology, discovery, planning, configuration, UAT and ongoing support, exists specifically to prevent these failure modes. If your project is showing any of these symptoms, an outside review can catch problems while they are still cheap to fix.