The Myth of the Big Important Partner - Part 1

Synopsis:

In the sale and implementation of enterprise level ERP projects not only does size not matter, it may in fact be a point of failure.

The Issue:

The idea for this post came to me when a big important partner(BIP) in our industry was recently purchased and there were a slew of articles talking about the transaction and glowing interviews with the owner extolling his business acumen.

Those stories reminded me of the large “challenged” ERP implementation where the same partner was failing spectacularly despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in billings and a rotating cast of poor to average consultants.

The highlight for me however was the sleepy consultant that tried to hideaway in the company boardroom for his daily naps. That worked well until the president of the company walked in on him mid slumber.

On the upside, he had not changed into his comfy jammies.

Not as funny, is the fact that in that in the ERP sales and implementation industry, challenged or failed ERP implementations with not one but multipleBIP “making doo doo in the bed” are not unusual. These partners create a thriving secondary implementation economy composed of smaller specialty firms and independent consultants that specialize in mop up operations. It is in these firms and individuals that you will often find the best technical resources in the industry.

There are so many BIP challenged implementation projects that major ERP vendors often have project escalation processes and teams.