A New Approach to ERP Implementations
By Ken Grodner and Donna Camp
Just when the war for talent couldn’t
get any tighter, the enterprise resource
planning (ERP) marketplace has
taken off like wildfire, putting increased
pressure on companies, systems integrators and the ERP vendors themselves to
train, recruit and retain top resources.
Nearly everyone—from customer to vendor—has either adopted the traditional
contractor staffing model to meet market
demand or increased the size of the internal IT team. However, both present their
own set of challenges that, in the worst of
circumstances, can make or break a project. As a result, the market is looking for a
new sourcing model that strikes a balance
between pure contracting and in-house
employees. Value-added sourcing (VAS)
seeks to establish that balance.
workforce each year, securing consultants through on-line auctions to augment
your own capabilities appears to be an
efficient model for supporting the
demand created by ERP. Efficient, yes,
but not without its challenges.
Sophisticated buyers of consulting
services must spend time up front screening to distinguish between those who
bring real experience and those who can
write good resumes. Buyers must have
good selling skills to convince the best
resources to join their project.
ERP Sourcing Evolution
Despite the fact that ERP is well into its second decade, a time
when most thought the technology would have given way to something new, its appeal remains as popular as ever —and more organizations continue to build ERP into their business operations.
In fact, many companies have created robust IT organizations
and are leading their own system implementations. They have
learned that the traditional system integrator model can result in
higher costs and loss of control—tantamount to “turning over the
keys to the kingdom.” Initially, companies took the “Do it for me
mentality” that was prevalent in the mid to late ’90s—the technology was new, and there were few real experts available to provide
the strategy and know-how to successfully implement ERP system. The organizations matured at the end of the decade, becoming more demanding and skeptical as ERP implementation failures
rose and many failed to live up the projected return on investment.
Today, the attitude is “Partner with me” as both clients and vendors are at near parity in terms of technical knowledge, and the
demand for ROI on both sides is high.
In fact, with thousands of practitioners now entering the
The Contractor Mentality
Contractors arriving on site bring with
them the independent contributor mindset
—they are sole practitioners focused on
sustaining themselves rather than becoming part of a team. Staffing a project with
the best independent contractors can result
in an assembly of great athletes but not a cohesive team. Even
with a strong internal project manager and a well-designed project plan, the independent contractors know knowledge sharing
and selfless collaboration may result in an untimely end to their
assignment, so as a rule they share only what is required.
Contractors may have the requisite technical skills but may
not take time to develop soft skills necessary to guide business
in today’s complex global environment. With an independent
mindset, contractors may leave at an inopportune time if conditions including excessive project demands, travel, and long work
hours become objectionable.
Ken Grodner and Donna Camp are managing directors
at BearingPoint, one of the world’s largest technology
and management consultancies.
Value-Added Sourcing Defined
Deficiencies of the contractor mentality model that are pervasive
in staff augmentation, which is intended to supplement a customer’s existing work force with technical professionals, are overcome with value-added sourcing. VAS is a flexible ERP staffing
and implementation model that blends the efficiencies of staff
augmentation and value created from the traditional systems integrator model. Under this model, the engagement responsibilities
are shared between the client and the integrator, but ownership
ultimately remains with the client. The success target is not limited to resourcing but includes an on-time and on-delivery budget
as well. For example, under VAS, time to value becomes a criti-
