“The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again but expecting different results”, attributed to Albert Einstein. I am writing this six-part article series about Why ERP Implementations Fail – to help you avoid a failed or a ‘less than optimal’ implementation. In part 1, 2, 3, and 4 we have covered the following topics:
When embarking on a Digital Transformation Project, management strives to avoid becoming a headline in the news due to significant cost overrun or Significant Deficiencies in their first external audit after going live.
We are witnessing the greatest digital transformation ever as organizations are moving from legacy ‘on-premise’ ERP systems to cloud-based ERP systems (SaaS applications). Though management is investing millions into the implementation of these SaaS applications, experts estimate that up to 90% of them fail. Why? Because “success” isn’t always about going live on time, within budget or with the expected functionality, as many system implementation partners may believe. It’s about long-term success, security, and sustainability
Disruption in the risk advisory industry has influenced industries time and time again over the years.
In release 25B, Oracle will begin to introduce the most significant overhaul related to application security.
Having been in this space for over 25 years, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. The deck is stacked against a secure and compliant ERP system implementation. Most publicly traded organizations implementing a new ERP system likely will have one or more “Significant Deficiencies” in the first year that should be reflected in audit findings. However, auditor ignorance often prevents these from being recognized.
A digital revolution is upon us! We are witnessing the greatest digital transformation since Y2K thanks to perpetual patch cycles within SaaS Applications. Organizations are ridding themselves of building and managing data centers by moving their legacy applications to hosted data centers. And thus moving many of their legacy applications to modern SaaS applications.
Managing vendor master data in NetSuite comes with its own set of challenges, especially when compared to other ERP systems who clearly separate entry and approval security objects. NetSuite doesn’t inherently have this segregation built into its standard functionality and permissions. As a result, it becomes crucial for organizations to design roles carefully, ensuring only the right individuals within the vendor management team have access to maintain vendor master data. Without clear boundaries, there’s a higher risk that unauthorized users could make changes, introducing a higher risk of fraud and operational delays.
NetSuite’s System Notes feature provides a vital audit trail for changes made to records within the ERP system, ensuring comprehensive visibility into the modifications of both standard and custom records. This functionality remains enabled and captures extensive information, such as the change’s date and time, user, and role involved. It records the type of change, specific fields altered, old and new values, and the context—whether made through the interface, CSV upload, web service, or script. This robust audit trail is indispensable for maintaining data integrity, ensuring transparency, and implementing strong detective controls.
Customer Invoicing in NetSuite is a streamlined yet multi-step process. It starts with the creation of a quote and moves through several stages—sales order, fulfillment, and finally, the generation of the invoice. For several organizations, it begins when a sales rep creates a quote, detailing the products or services and their associated costs to their customer. Once the customer approves, authorized users can automatically convert the quote into a sales order. After generating the sales order, the fulfillment process begins, delivering the goods or services to the customer. Then, authorized users can quickly generate an invoice from the sales order and fulfillment records and send it to the customer. Careful handling at each step ensures everything runs smoothly, making it an efficient process when done right.