Stop Blaming Your ERP Vendor
CIO, Monday, June 8th, 2026
ERP failures stem mainly from internal practices, not vendor shortcomings, per doctoral research on small businesses.
Drawing on Michele Doverspike's doctoral research into six small-business ERP implementations, the article argues that success depends on internal discipline rather than vendor quality.
Successful projects shared three traits: thorough preparation with strategic alignment and executive sponsorship, execution grounded in role-based training and strong governance, and rigorous scope control.
All six IT managers interviewed credited internal practices, not external factors, for their outcomes. The author stresses that the technology is rarely the problem and that leadership protecting projects from scope creep matters more than software, challenging the habit of blaming vendors in post-mortems.