Levi Strauss: SAP rollout 'substantially' hurt quarter

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Whoa Nellie.....

Through the magic of Google alerts I discovered something I said five (count 'em 5) years ago was used to bolster the notion that an ERP implementation (SAP specifically) was the cause of Levi-Strauss' revenue problems in Q2 2008.

I really would have loved a chance to opine for THIS story, but no one called to ask.

Here's what I WOULD have said:
- Companies have been blaming poor results on ERP implementations for 20 years. In my years as a CIO, I always found this notion to be a convenient scapegoat for other, deeper corporate issues. My years as an analyst have only deepened that conviction.

- I am completely unfamiliar with the Levi-Strauss situation as it is today. But taking 5 years to finish ANY implementation points to deeper issues, dontcha think?

Our research (That's RSR Research by the way, I've changed jobs a couple of times since that last quote) consistently shows two significant internal challenges faced by companies when they decide to shift their practices: 1) their existing technology infrastructure is a mess, and keeps them from moving forward with new business initiatives and 2) people (as in the end-users) just don't like to change. Cultural change is hard. I expect untangling existing procedures which have most likely fallen into folklore is an additional nightmare.

I also would have told you that this also smells a little like a poorly executed attempt to achieve Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, but that would be pure speculation.

Anyway, I don't know enough about the situation to say more than that. And that would be the end of that. Yes, SAP is a client of mine, but so are most of the other large ERP and point solution providers, including Oracle. I would have responded the same way if the name of the ERP wasn't even mentioned.

Normally I enjoy working with your reporters, like Evan Schuman. I'm really not that hard to find. Please quote me in context next time, like your other reporters do. I'm easy to find...just google "Paula Rosenblum".

Posted by: prosenblum   Posted on: 07/19/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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