Why ERP Implementations Don’t Always Feel Successful
- Abhisar Sharma
- Jul 29
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 1
🚨 Most ERP Implementations Don’t Fail Technically - They Fail Perceptually.
I’ve worked with businesses moving from QuickBooks, GP, and other legacy systems to Dynamics 365 Business Central - and here’s a truth that doesn’t get talked about enough:
An ERP implementation can go "live"… but still feel like a failure.
Why?
Because “failure” doesn’t just mean the project was cancelled. It means:
The team is frustrated
The system feels harder than before
What was promised never quite showed up
Someone says, “I think we were better off with the old system.”
This feeling isn’t rare. Even large enterprises have experienced multi-million-dollar ERP rollouts that checked all the boxes technically but collapsed in real-world use. Take Hershey’s $100M ERP failure or Lidl’s abandoned SAP implementation - both were operational, but their people couldn’t use them effectively. That’s perception. That’s adoption.
💡 Based on real-world experience, here are the reasons ERP projects fail in the eyes of the client (even when they’re technically “complete”) :
1. They were told it’s “just a migration.”
Especially common when moving from GP to Business Central. This creates false expectations. BC is not GP - the workflows, logic, and user experience are different. Expecting things to work the same leads to confusion, frustration, and resistance.
2. Testing is rushed or skipped.
"We’ll test it live" almost always backfires. Especially integrations. You’re not just testing functionality - you’re testing the real-world flow of data, exceptions, and processes. Panorama’s ERP Report consistently highlights lack of testing as a top failure factor.
3. Change management is ignored.
Teams aren’t prepared, trained, or bought in. No wonder they want the old system back. Gartner regularly cites change management as the most overlooked component in ERP success. If you want user adoption, start change management before you start the project.
4. Demos showed the highlights - not the reality.
Clients rarely ask the right questions during demos. They see the best-case, not their case. A flashy demo isn’t a day-in-the-life. The real questions to ask are: “How will this handle our edge cases? How will this work for my team?”
5. Sales overpromised - delivery underdelivered.
Misalignment starts before the project even begins. If the vision sold doesn’t match what’s being implemented, user confidence drops fast. And recovering it is a slow, uphill climb.
6. Scope creeps without clear boundaries.
Adding last-minute features? Making config changes a week before go-live? That’s a fast track to user frustration. You lose stability, training becomes outdated, and users feel like the target keeps moving.
7. Consultants say “no” instead of getting creative.
A workaround may exist - but it requires effort. Saying "that’s out of scope" is easy. Solving it the right way builds trust. Good consultants will challenge assumptions and help teams reframe problems.
8. Post-go-live support is an afterthought.
And that’s when the real adoption work begins. If the project team vanishes right after launch, users are left on their own. Go-live is the start of the ERP journey - not the end.
So what does ERP success really require?
ERP projects don’t just need good software - they need clear communication, honest planning, and a deep understanding of how people and systems interact.
Projects that succeed:
Involve users early
Prioritize training and feedback
Align systems with updated processes
Maintain strong post-go-live support
Embrace change as a core deliverable, not an afterthought
How Evolve Can Help
At Evolve, we’ve helped organizations move from legacy systems like GP and QuickBooks to modern cloud solutions like Dynamics 365 Business Central - with a focus not just on the technology, but on the people using it.
We bring:
Hands-on change management
Business process alignment
Real-world testing and training strategies
Long-term support beyond go-live
If you're planning a transition to Business Central - or struggling to get value from a recent ERP rollout - let's talk. Real ERP success is possible.
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