The Confession:
OK, I have to come clean: that headline stat about 362%? We made it up*. Don’t believe everything you read on LinkedIn 😀
Unlike others online posting ridiculous stats: we’re not afraid to admit it. Tongue in cheek.
But if you’ve ever lived through an ERP disaster, you probably nodded and thought, “Yeah, that’s about right…”
And that’s the problem. ERP overruns are so common that completely fabricated statistics feel believable. Kinda.
In our experience advising and rescuing Dynamics 365 ERP projects, the truth is this: ERP implementations don’t go off the rails by accident. They fail for the same, predictable, face-palmingly avoidable reasons.
Here are the four biggest culprits we hear about time and again.
*The real numbers? According to Gartner research, between 55% and 75% of all ERP projects fail to meet their objectives: whether through project abandonment, significant budget overruns, or extended timelines.*
1. Rushed and Unrealistic Planning (Or: “How Hard Could It Be?”)
Picture this: Leadership announces the ERP project on Monday. By Friday, you’re expected to have a “comprehensive project plan” ready for review. So you cobble together a Gantt chart that looks impressive, slap some optimistic dates on it, and pray nobody asks about the details.
Sound familiar?
More often than not, organizations attempt to compress ERP planning into a matter of weeks. The resulting project plan is full of assumptions, wishful thinking, and timelines that would make a Formula 1 pit crew nervous.
The truth: ERP planning is a specialized discipline. When rushed, it creates a cascade of problems that haunt you throughout implementation and beyond. Underestimated complexity, inadequate resource allocation, and scope creep make cutting corners feel like a good option.
Why This Happens
- Executive pressure to “get moving”
- Underestimating the complexity of your existing processes
- Nobody wants to be the person who says “this will take six months of planning”
The Real Cost
Every shortcut in planning costs you exponentially later. That week you saved upfront? You’ll spend it three times over troubleshooting issues that shouldn’t exist.
Our advice: Take ERP planning seriously. Invest the time upfront and involve an experienced D365 ERP project manager from day one. A proper ERP project plan should span dozens of pages, not a single Word document. Every day spent planning properly saves weeks and tens of thousands of dollars later.
TIP: We have a network of seasoned D365 ERP Project Managers who have delivered multiple implementations, we’d be happy to discuss finding a fit for someone who’s also got experience in your specific industry.
2. Underestimating the Internal Commitment Required (The “Side Project” Delusion)
Here’s a conversation that happens in approximately 99% of organizations:
Executive: “So, Sarah can handle the ERP implementation, right?”
Manager: “Well, she’s currently running the entire finance department, but sure, she can probably squeeze it in.”
Narrator: She could not, in fact, squeeze it in.
ERP transformation is not something people can do “on the side” while maintaining their usual day jobs. Yet this is exactly the expectation many businesses set- and then act shocked when things fall apart.
What Actually Happens
Without dedicated internal ERP resources:
- Projects stall waiting for decisions
- Knowledge gaps emerge and never get filled
- Partners end up making business-critical decisions (because someone has to)
- Misalignment grows like mold in a damp bathroom
- Costs escalate while everyone points fingers
The Partner isn’t the problem here. Your team simply cannot contribute meaningfully while also doing their actual jobs. It’s like asking someone to paint your house while they’re still living in it and hosting dinner parties. It can be done, but nobody is gonna enjoy it.
Our advice: Treat your ERP implementation as a full-time commitment. Either backfill your key people or free them up entirely. The “halfway house” approach- where people are supposed to do both their regular job AND the ERP project- works approximately never.
3. Cutting Corners on an Inherently Expensive Undertaking (AKA Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish)
ERP systems are expensive. They’re expensive because they’re complex, business-critical, and replace literally every system that runs your company.
Yet somehow, businesses convince themselves there’s a “budget version” that’ll work just fine.
The False Economy
Attempts to drive down costs at every stage – whether by reducing scope, minimizing testing, or treating contingency planning like it’s optional – almost always backfire spectacularly.
In reality: That data migration you’re balking at because it “seems expensive”? Wait until you load your lovely new ERP system with garbage data and discover the true cost of that. We’re talking months of cleanup, lost productivity, and finance teams who’ve stopped making eye contact with you.
The Testing Trap
“Do we really need that much user acceptance testing? Can’t we just… wing it?”
No. You cannot wing it. You’re implementing software that controls your entire business. Cutting testing is like skipping the brake inspection on your car because “they probably still work.”
Our advice: Accept that ERP is a significant investment, because it is. Build a 20-30% contingency buffer into your budget. This isn’t us being pessimistic: project management best practices from PMI (Project Management Institute) recommend contingency reserves to cover ‘estimate uncertainty and risk exposure,’ typically ranging from 10-30% depending on project complexity. For ERP implementations, which are among the most complex enterprise projects, the higher end is justified.
Surprises will happen (guaranteed), and having the flexibility to absorb them beats the frantic, humiliating scramble for emergency funding mid-project.
Your CFO will thank you later.
4. Becoming Overly Dependent on Your Partner (The Hidden Hostage Situation)
This is perhaps the most common trap of all, hiding in plain sight like a ninja in business casual.
When all knowledge, code, documentation, and decision-making authority lives exclusively with your implementation partner, you’ve created a dangerous dependency. Every change (however minor) becomes a negotiation. Every question becomes a billable hour. Every enhancement becomes a six-week project with a quote that makes your eyes water.
How This Happens
- Partner controls all documentation (it’s in their “system”, their DevOps)
- Internal team never gets trained on anything beyond basic usage
- All customizations are black boxes you can’t touch
- You can’t even change a workflow without calling them
The Long-Term Cost
This dependency doesn’t end at go-live. It gets worse. Years later, you’re still paying premium rates for simple changes because nobody else can touch your system. You’ve essentially entered into a very expensive arranged marriage with your Microsoft partner. You didn’t even get to choose the dress.
Our advice:
- Demand knowledge transfer from day one (not “eventually” or “at the end”)
- Maintain documentation internally: in systems you control, YOUR DevOps
- Build confidence within your team so they can challenge and contribute to decisions: hire internal employees who know D365 implementation cycles
- Build internal D365 capability by hiring permanent staff who can own your system long-term (our parent company specializes in finding permanent D365 talent if you need to strengthen your internal team)
- Consider bringing in independent D365 contractors for specific areas to avoid single-source dependency
ERP should empower your business and show undeniable ROI, not create long-term dependency.
Not sure if you’ve fallen into this trap? Take our Partner Dependency Assessment– it takes five minutes and will either give you peace of mind or a much-needed wake-up call.
Final Thoughts: The Good News About Predictable Failures
Here’s the thing about ERP projects failing for the same reasons repeatedly: if the problems are predictable, they’re also preventable.
The four issues above aren’t acts of God or unforeseeable circumstances. They’re choices—sometimes conscious, often unconscious—that compound over time until you’re starring in your own cautionary tale.
The Action Plan
If you’re currently in an ERP project (or about to start one):
- Audit your planning: Is it actually detailed or just detailed-looking?
- Check your team’s capacity: Are people genuinely freed up or just “expected to manage”?
- Review your budget: Does it include contingency or are you planning for perfection?
- Assess your partner dependency: Do you control your destiny or are you along for the ride?
Get a Reality Check
If you’re unsure whether your business has fallen into the over-reliance trap, assess your position now. We’ve created a quick Partner Dependency Assessment that takes five minutes and will reveal exactly where you stand.
The earlier you identify these risks, the easier (and cheaper) they are to fix.
The Bottom Line
Whilst our 362% figure was made up, the costs of a poorly run ERP project are very real—and very expensive, and very career-limiting for everyone involved.
Don’t become another statistic (real or imaginary). Plan properly, commit fully, budget realistically, and maintain control of your own destiny.
Get the Talent your ERP project deserves:
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