Business Systems Failure is Rife -- Reference Documents
By Dr James A Robertson PrEng
This article presents a catalogue of failed and sub-optimal business information systems projects and related articles to assist readers to understand the scale of the problem and why the methods presented on this website are so critical in terms of formulating an approach to preventing failure and achieving successful high value project outcomes.
Separate articles will be prepared with regard to examination of individual cases, this document is purely a catalogue.
In reviewing these articles please contrast the substantial number of disastrous failures with the bridge failure below, a failure so unusual that it made headline news around the world within minutes of the event – because we simply do NOT expect engineered structures to fail – hence the engineering approach for business information system, IT and ERP projects that is advocated on this website
This website contains considerable material that will assist you to better understand WHY these failures occur AND what to do to prevent them or turn failure situations around. See particularly the series of articles on the "Real Issues in Business Information Systems". The Pulse Measurement Sample Reports give some examples of real world situations where failure was occurring.
The Article Catalogue lists considerable material which you may find relevant.
See also the Seminar presentations "Why your ERP is NOT Delivering and HOW to FIX it" and "The Critical Factors for ERP and IT Investment Success".
The main issues are summarized in the one hour video, "Why your ERP is NOT delivering and HOW to FIX it"
The rest of the site contains supporting material ranging from "A Robust approach to Procurement" to "Strategic Essence" to "Precision Configuration".
We offer a corresponding range of services to assist you to diagnose why your system is NOT performing, to advising and assisting you with regard to all aspects of the topics covered on this website
Please contact me on James@James-A-Robertson-and-Associates.com for further information
Bridgestone versus IBM – US$600 Million Court Action
http://www.businessinsider.com/bridgestone-sues-ibm-for-600m-2013-11
Tire company Bridgestone has slapped IBM with a huge lawsuit over a custom-built computer system that performed so poorly, it threw Bridgestone’s "entire business operation into chaos," the suit alleges, as reported by the Tennessean.
The system cost over $75 million and went live in January, 2012. It immediately experienced "system-wide failures" for three months, Bridgestone alleges:
"Tires which should have been delivered to fill customer orders … piled up in distribution centers, smaller warehouses, and trailers parked in parking lots. Ultimately, [Bridgestone] was forced to lease an enormous amount [of] public warehouse space at great expense."
The complaint also says:
“IBM’s defective system lost or deleted scheduled customer orders, would not process orders, duplicated, or partially processed orders and, for those limited orders that were processed, did not complete critical corresponding business applications.”
Bridgestone IBM lawsuit redacted complaint
http://www.scribd.com/doc/185845048/Bridgestone-IBM-lawsuit-redacted-complaint
Pennsylvania Kills An IBM Contract That's 3 Years Late And $60 Million Over Budget
http://www.businessinsider.com/pennsylvania-kills-ibm-project-2013-8
Labor & Industry Releases Unemployment Compensation Modernization System Study
http://www.dli.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_81220_5278_570049_43/http%3B/pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/cop_hhs/dli/_l_i_enterprise_news___media/media_portlets/newsitems/labor___industry_releases_unemployment_compensation_modernization_system_study.html
Labor & Industry Releases Unemployment Compensation Modernization System Study
http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/state-dumping-ibm-after-it-project-runs-42-months-late-60-million-over-budget-223947
BMW Owners Vent Anger at Months-Long Wait for Spare Parts
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-27/bmw-owners-vent-anger-at-months-long-wait-for-spare-parts.html
10 Famous ERP Disasters, Dustups and Disappointments
http://www.cio.com/article/2429865/enterprise-resource-planning/10-famous-erp-disasters--dustups-and-disappointments.html
Wake Up People! Forget Twitter and iPhone Apps, and Focus on SAP and ERP Apps
http://www.cio.com/article/2373436/enterprise-software/wake-up-people--forget-twitter-and-iphone-apps--and-focus-on-sap-and-erp-apps.html
ERP Backlash Coming Soon to a Company Near You
http://www.cio.com/article/2373567/enterprise-software/erp-backlash-coming-soon-to-a-company-near-you.html
SAP project halted after shareholder pressure
http://www.cio.com/article/2431619/strategy/sap-project-halted-after-shareholder-pressure.html
Why ERP Systems Are More Important Than Ever
http://www.cio.com/article/2437248/enterprise-software/why-erp-systems-are-more-important-than-ever.html
ERP Implementation Success: Odds Are Stacked Against You
http://www.cio.com/article/2373584/enterprise-software/erp-implementation-success--odds-are-stacked-against-you.html
Overstock.com's Four-Year ERP Nightmare
http://www.cio.com/article/2373728/enterprise-software/overstock-com-s-four-year-erp-nightmare.html
Overstock.com overflops in Q3
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/07/overstock_q3_flop
Big ERP Vendors Making Same Mistakes as Big Three Automakers
http://www.cio.com/article/2373654/enterprise-software/big-erp-vendors-making-same-mistakes-as-big-three-automakers.html
BBC was 'complacent' over failed £100m IT project
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26963723
Biggest Enterprise Resource Planning Disasters of 2010
http://www.pcworld.com/article/214091/biggest_erp_failures_of_2010.html
Manhattan U.S. Attorney charges four CityTime employees with $80 million waste, fraud scam
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan-u-s-attorney-charges-citytime-employees-80-million-waste-fraud-scam-article-1.472498
HP pays BSkyB £318m in final settlement of CRM lawsuit
http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/it-business/20593/hp-pays-bskyb-318m-in-final-settlement-of-crm-lawsuit/
Marin County to rip and replace ailing SAP system
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2514861/enterprise-applications/marin-county-to-rip-and-replace-ailing-sap-system.html
Marin County complaint against Deloitte Consulting on failed SAP project
http://www.scribd.com/doc/32419050/Marin-County-complaint-against-Deloitte-Consulting-on-failed-SAP-project
SAP, Waste Management Settle Lawsuit
http://www.pcworld.com/article/195469/article.html
ERP woes blamed for lumber company's bad quarter
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2513991/enterprise-applications/erp-woes-blamed-for-lumber-company-s-bad-quarter.html
Jury Awards Pet Food Maker $61 Million in ERP Suit
http://www.cio.com/article/2412906/enterprise-software/jury-awards-pet-food-maker--61-million-in-erp-suit.html
Payroll errors shortchange Fort Worth police officers
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/12/13/2701639/payroll-errors-shortchange-fort.html?rh=1
SAP System Issue Blamed for Delayed San Diego Audit
http://www.pcworld.com/article/211197/article.html
Oregon SAP project wracked by leadership woes
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2514125/enterprise-applications/oregon-sap-project-wracked-by-leadership-woes.html
Cloud downtime has cost over £45 million since 2007
http://news.techworld.com/virtualisation/3365175/cloud-downtime-has-cost-over-45-million-since-2007/
ERP Software Vendors: Playing the Shell Game
http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/street-smart-erp/erp-software-vendors-playing-the-shell-game-51189
Gartner -- Most organizations are NOT making better decisions than they did five years ago
http://www.sas.com/offices/africa/southafrica/news/feature/bi_supp.pdf
SAP: Clueless Consultants From Accenture And IBM Giving Us A Bad Name (SAP)
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/sap-clueless-consultants-from-accenture-and-ibm-giving-us-a-bad-name-sap-2009-2
The Price Tag of ERP Failure: $440 Million?
http://panorama-consulting.com/the-price-tag-of-erp-failure-440-million/
Why it is Important that Software Projects Fail
http://www.berglas.org/Articles/ImportantThatSoftwareFails/ImportantThatSoftwareFails.html
Labour's computer blunders cost £26bn
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labours-computer-blunders-cost-16326bn-1871967.html