Order Management Systems Project Mistake - Having the Wrong Expectations

F. Curtis Barry & Company has been working with our clients for the past 26 years on hundreds of order management system, warehouse management system, and inventory management system projects. We felt that there is no better way to know how to successfully run a smooth systems project, than to learn from the heartache of others that have gone through it already.

We have developed a series of 12 blog posts that highlight mistakes that our clients have had to painfully learn prior to us getting hired or after we have completed our contracted phase of the order management system project.

1 of 12.  Having the Wrong Expectations

Many order management software projects get off to the wrong start.  In my four decades of order management system project experience, here are five things management always wants to know upfront in the project before the selection project proceeds:

• To understand type/tier of order management system that best suits your needs

• Perform preliminary gap analysis of your business compared to commercial systems available

• Develop preliminary total cost of ownership for entire project

• Understand the schedule to complete process

• To know what resources – both internal and external – are required to implement and support project

How many times have you told your boss, “ABC will cost this amount” or “We can complete the project on this timeline” – only to find out after you do the in depth research or do the project, reality is dramatically different.  The point here is that management doesn’t want to go through months of detail study to find out that they can’t see their way to a huge investment.  They want the answers to these questions first and then give you approval to do the detail work.  This is a catch 22.  Unless you have current prior experience with the order management system being investigated, how will you answer these questions?

It may be an option to engage a consultant to gain insight.  You have to answer these questions in a manner that doesn’t create unreasonable expectations for the project. If you are facing the above order management system expectations from your executives, contact us to discuss your system project.