Practitioner Collaboration, not Competition, is a key to ERP Organizational Change Success:
We recently had a PE portfolio executive ask us about competition within the practice of ERP organizational change. So, we just wanted to share a few notes on that topic. But we just don’t see it that way at all (i.e. as competition). Sure, we feel we may have some differentiators within our team and our approach to our practice. But, we are motivated by ERP organizational change success within the field in general as well as for our clients.We feel that one of the best ways to accomplish success is through improved collaboration within the ERP industry whether it is ERP consulting firms, researchers, authors, practitioners, ERP websites/bloggers, ERP magazines, or ERP software vendors. We think the right way to view it specifically as fellow ERP organizational change practitioners, is that we are all on the same team. We all in it for the success of the organization and for our trade. This means that first and foremost, as fellow ERP organizational change practitioners, our primary job is to 1) objectively find that “one best ERP solution fit” for every organization and I think we all would agree how critical that is. And, 2) implement that solution to the best of our collective and individual knowledge, skill-set, and experience so as to realize success.
The practice of ERP organizational change itself is not a competition. Practitioners, researchers, vendors, end-users, and resellers all have something to bring to the table. The big guys, the little guys, the ERP vendor CEOs, the researchers, and the boots on the ground practitioners that work countless hours to ensure organizational success.
ERP Organizational Change Success:
When it comes to successful ERP organizational change there is plenty of work to go around for the ERP organizational change practitioner. Why? Because successful ERP organizational change is important to businesses, success can be challenging, and because the value of ERP is understood. The primary focus and mission in our practice should be ERP organizational change sharing, learning, collaboration, and education (please refer to previous posts). If we do that, secondary objectives will be met by our firm or any other of our colleague’s firms for that matter. So, no, the way we view it is that we really don’t have competition, we have friends and colleagues that we love to share and collaborate with. And of whom all want to ensure ERP organizational change success.
Our ERP organizational change colleagues have lots of great work, experience, insight, and research that needs to be shared:
We are grateful to have met with and work with, daily, our colleagues including ERP organizational change practitioners, ERP vendor executives and their teams, ERP researchers, organizational culture scholars, and ERP end-users. We love to talk about current and new ways of approaching all things ERP organizational change. We all know the value of effective business systems and anyone in the field knows how challenging it can be and that each organization has its own very unique challenges. Our core desire is to report out and talk about how excited we are about organizational success, improvements and challenges in our field of practice and study, as well as the future of ERP.
We have some colleagues doing some interesting work in the field of ERP organizational change, and we’ll be sharing out every step along the way.
There is and should be, however, significant competition among the actual ERP software vendors:
Oh, and of course there is great competition between the actual ERP software vendors (at least 100+). That helps inspire creativity and innovation. This helps to drive and ensure that the success of ERP organizational change will continue to improve for the benefit of your organization. In fact, we believe that the next generation of ERP solutions and leveraging emerging technology is extremely exciting! But, each and every ERP vendor is different in so many ways. And, not just technically or functionally. It is so important that each organization looking to implement ERP doesn’t make assumptions and really takes the time to find that one best fit. Purchasing an ERP because a salesperson convinced you on a phone call, or because another firm uses a specific ERP, or because your best friend convinced you, or….……these are just not good ERP selection reasons. The ERP vendor space is extremely competitive, and the organization owes it to themselves to find that best fit.
As many of our colleagues, we are, and always will be, vendor-neutral. We are not an ERP certified partner or value-added reseller. That’s, of course, not taking anything at all away from any ERP solutions and certified partners, obviously, we work closely with ERP vendors and ERP specific subject matter experts every day. It just means that we greatly value the ERP selection process and we know that proper ERP selection can be a critical success factor. To emphasize, we think each ERP software vendor has pros and cons and real differentiators they bring and advertise to the market. We believe each organization is unique and we believe each ERP software solution is unique. And, we as ERP practitioners are obligated to assist organizations in finding the best people, process, and technology fit in what is actually an extremely competitive space, ERP software. We have great relationships with ERP vendors but it doesn’t mean that they are a good fit for your organization.
Because ERP vendor competition is alive and well, the key is to follow an objective process and have that process determine the best fit.
There is, and should be, continued collaboration not competition among ERP practitioners:
We view the practice of ERP organizational change as an opportunity to collaborate, share, learn, and teach. We enjoy discussing success stories, war stories, research, and lessons learned. Anytime you want to share our passion and what drives us, ERP organizational change success, please reach out.
Recommended Reading:
Here is a link to a Journal you may be interested with a focus on research and practice collaboration: “The aim of the “Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce (JOCEC) is to publish quality, fresh, and innovative work that will make a difference for future research and practice rather than focusing on well-established research areas. JOCEC publishes original research that explores the relationships between computer/communication technology and the design, operations, and performance of organizations. This includes implications of the technologies for organizational structure and dynamics, technological advances to keep pace with changes of organizations and their environments, emerging technological possibilities for improving organizational performance, and the many facets of electronic business”. https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=hoce20
About Nestell & Associates: https://nestellassociates.com/about-us/
The ERP Organizational Change Journal” Podcast:
Diving into the complexities of Enterprise Resource Planning, this ERP Podcast stands at the forefront of ERP change management discussions. It’s an essential hub for Private Equity Stakeholders, Practitioners, and Researchers seeking success in ERP organizational change. We focus on effective strategies and real-world experiences in ERP Change management, exploring the integral roles of people, processes, and technology in driving transformative ERP projects.