Successfully Managing ERP Implementation Providers

Firms are spending significant services dollars on consulting and systems integration (SI) work, but many firms do not maximize the value that they obtain from implementation providers. Most firms expect that their provider will proactively suggest best practices based on what they've learned from projects with other clients. Firms want their provider to focus on making them successful rather than spending excessive time in contract disputes and renegotiations every time they come to an unexpected turn in the road. In reality, many firms do not have these positive experiences with their providers. To help services clients gain the most from their service provider relationships, Forrester interviewed the clients of leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation firms to find out what made their projects successful and to identify areas that could have been improved.