This happens all the time. “Its the vendor’s fault.” Right, you just allowed it to be a failure or had no part in it. It was all the vendor. I don’t understand why companies think that just buy purchasing a product guarantees its successful roll-out. Hey maybe it SHOULD be this way, but reality is , it is not and companies need to take ownership in the whole process, end to end. Having the vendor do your project for you is just unrealistic. Your company needs to be involved every step of the way to ensure things go as planned and stay on track and at the end of the process or launch when you get the keys, you know what you are driving.
Below is a link to a current recent example; a must read.
ERP implementations and outsourcing: The white board rarely reflects reality by ZDNet‘s Larry Dignan — In the things you must read today department check out Michael Krigsman’s analysis of a bankruptcy filing by American LaFrance, a maker of custom firefighting equipment. In the filing, American LaFrance alleges that IBM is responsible for the company’s bankruptcy because of a botched ERP implementation. Michael outlines all of the moving parts between American LaFrance […]