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• 18 Jul 08
  

  mezzo toscano
  • Having lived through several ERP implementations I can tell you that they never come close to the payback they are supposed to give a business.
  • ERP sales are one of the greatest hoaxes ever pawned off on businesses and if i were a CEO, I would fire anyone proposing one.
  • SAP = Shrieking, Angst and Panic, or what happens to management when dealing simultaneously with user revolt due to a poor ERP implementation, and the accompanying vendor invoices.
  • SAP = Solutions and Programs. They *hate* it when you pronounce it "sap" (both as a verb and as a noun there are terrible negative connotations), but the rule in computers has always been, if you can pronounce it, you must do so.
  • The SAP project managers, implementers and programmers were considered the 'rain makers' - high billable rates, long-term projects, margins to make any business analyst smile - and could do no wrong.
  • We will seriously be considering other vendors in our next budget year.
  • If you're getting hosed on the support, and the front-end integration is both obscenely expensive and laughably difficult to use, what's the point?
  • The correct response to this behavior would be to avoid ever doing business with SAP in the future.
  • The amazing thing about SAP is that once you have installed it and changed your business model to match it, trained your employees, there is no way you can ever get rid of it. Short of a merger or acquisition, you will alway be an SAP customer.
  • The ice age is certainly an appropriate metaphor to use with SAP. Except it hasn't evolved; it has just become more bloated. The basis for most of the gazillions of tables in the SAP database are punch card data structures designed for the unit record devices that predated digital computers. You can still see the card layouts (with German labels) deep inside the system. You can also see tape and disk related optimizations. In fact, you can observe the entire history of computing in the SAP data structures.
  • SAP R/3 was the first well designed fat client/server application that met the tough requirements of the secondary sector (ex. chemical industry). Since then, R/3 was sold to the tertiary sector mostly because of its reputation, the promises of cost control with a solid finance package, but it was more sheep effect than sheer advantages that drove service-oriented customers to it (it also expanded the market for expensive SAP consultants).
  • SAP is professional malpractice
  • The best-run companies run SAP... because attempting to implement SAP drives the weak out of business. It's survival of the fittest, really.
  • I wish you'd mentioned the other reason many corporations choose to implement ERP systems: Their IT departments want to avoid the responsibility of actually knowing how the company runs, and their business folks think IT can't change the systems fast enough to keep up with the business. It's a total scam, and keeps consultants like me employed.
  • Understanding your data is critical to any business. As the business grows it becomes more difficult to do. The result is companies like SAP who come in and ask people, what do you mean by this number here? That's the real scam.
  • But without a "bottom up" understanding of the business, these applications all were found to exist in their own "boats," floating on top of the business, adding cost and work, but not really adding value.
  • Just saw this story on Levi Strauss submitting an SEC filing because their rollout of SAP ERB  is having a negative impact on their earnings. Ooch!

  • Nobody mentioned the Companies that sued or are suing the ERP software and consulting vendors. I found these links but don't know if there was an outcome or not?

      

    http://news.cnet.com/Waste-Management-sues-SAP-over-complete-failure/2100-1014_3-6235776.html 
     http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878-1040637.html 

  • SAP is about the worst thing that can happen to a company.

      

    It does make sure that everyone in the company with out exception will be very upset. Usually this is hard to do. SAP can do it for you. They get everyone.
  • you want to run Vanilla SAP you need to match their concept of "best practice"
  • I found the combination of arrogance, price and army of ill-informed business consultants leaves a very bad taste
  • One [CompanyName], One SAP.

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