15/10/2010 20:10
blog.mintek.com
Why Asset Management System
Implementations Fail
Why Asset Management System
Implementations Fail - Part I
I
was reading about the decision by Marin County,
CA to walk away from a $30 million investment
in an Enterprise Resource Planning system after
outside consultants claimed it and wasn’t worth the
cost to fix the problems.
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A Case Study of Asset Management
Implementation Gone Wrong
This asset management implementation disaster is
joliprint
destined to become a case study for graduate bu-
siness programs because the parties failed to set
the customers expectations but also because Marin
County and Deloitte Consulting were blaming each
Printed with
other while the software vendor, SAP, took little or
no responsibility for its products.
http://blog.mintek.com/Enterprise_Asset_Management/bid/52097/Why-Asset-Management-System-Implementations-Fail-Part-I
The sad part is they all lost; Marin County adminis-
trators for not thinking through their idea, Deloitte
Consulting for a lack of vision and skill and lastly,
SAP’s image for having a product that is difficult to
implement.
The Root Cause of Asset Management
System Software Implementation Failure
Contrary to popular belief, asking who is to blame
for the failed implementation is not the question that
customers, software vendors or consulting compa-
nies should be asking. 50-90% of implementations
fail for software packages such as an EAM, ERP ,
CBM, CMMS, IWMS, CIFM, FMIS or any other type
of asset management tool because Sales sold a pro-
duct that could not realistically meet the customer’s
expectations.
What do customer expectations have to do with this?
In short, EVERYTHING! Successfully implementing
asset management system software means that the
customer is happy with the results. It does not mean
that everything works perfectly. Although this would
be nice, there are countless points of failure during
the course of an implementation. As a result, the
customers and vendor expectations must be ma-
naged from beginning to end.
If you fail to realize that setting expectations is the
true cornerstone of communication then you are
doomed to repeat your errors over and over again.
Purchasing and setting up an asset management
software is not like buying a box of cereal. It requires
work and a substantial amount of time.
This is the first of a multi-part series that every ven-
dor, potential customer and consulting company
should memorize. At the end of the series a new
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Why Asset Management System Implementations Fail
opportunity will be presented that may change the
way asset management software is sold.
Setting expectations is part of the overall commu-
nication process. To better understand the pivotal
role of communications, let us first define the role
of the key players in the decision to purchase  asset
management system software. Although roles may
vary or change over the course of the sale and im-
plementation, it is absolutely mission critical that
buy-in is achieved from the customer at all levels
in their organization.
In order for this to be accomplished, decision makers
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for the customer must actively engage in open com-
munication with end users as well as other depart-
ments whose resources will be needed (ex: facilities
staff, accounting, purchasing, IT). Without buy-in,
the EAM/CMMS system is just another tool forced
upon staff that will not be set-up or used correctly.
The Sales Executive
Salespeople are driven to produce results. Their goal
joliprint
is to either create a need or guide a potential client’s
needs to their product. Sales for big ticket items
are usually relationship based. It is the relationship
building that forms the bond of trust as well as set-
Printed with
ting the early customer and vendor expectations.
http://blog.mintek.com/Enterprise_Asset_Management/bid/52097/Why-Asset-Management-System-Implementations-Fail-Part-I
15/10/2010 20:10
As the sales cycle progresses, salespeople are res-
ponsible for setting the table as they must match
customer expectations/needs with the product they
represent. Sales needs to present realistic vendor
expectations to the customer. Vendor executives
should not be wondering what was promised du-
ring the sale.
The Executive or Decision Makers
The Executive or decision makers are the person or
group that can define the top level need (pain) for an
organization. They are the initial line of communi-
cation to the vendor or third party consultant. Most
importantly, the decision maker(s) are the person(s)
accountable for achieving buy-in throughout the
company.
The other major role of the decision maker is to
ensure that there are enough internal resources to
complete the project before the asset management
system software is purchased. This includes but is
not limited to:
• Assigning a project manager or putting to-
gether a team for the implementation.
• Making sure work flow processes are un-
derstood. This information determines
where the bottlenecks are. The problems
identified will be among the first expecta-
tions given to the vendor.
• Making sure time and money is available
for asset detail set-up. It may take several
months or longer to collect and enter in as-
set detail for tens of thousands of assets.
• Making sure time and money is available
for staff training. For example, maintenance
staff will be the heaviest users of a CMMS,
but they are always busy (otherwise you
would not need help). What is the plan to
free up their time?
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 15/10/2010 20:10
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Why Asset Management System Implementations Fail

Operations - Client
This is the software implementation team who share
responsibility with the vendor and/or systems inte-
gration consultants to make the asset management
system work. Ideally, this group represents all of
the areas to be impacted by the asset management
system software including maintenance staff, plan-
ners, engineers and management.
Now that the general roles of the key players has
been outlined, the next step is to understand why
setting the proper expectations are important to all
the parties involved. Our next post will cover why
and how to set expectations between client, vendor
and/or a third party.
If you liked this article, you may also want to read:

It is very important that this function is not dele-

gated to outside consultants because true buy-in
comes from participating in the process to make
things better. In addition, this is the group that will
assume the role of continually improving workflow
and processes for asset management.
Operations - Vendor
This group includes the project manager, EAM/
CMMS trainers, technical support and any other
resource needed to meet/exceed customer expec-
tations. This group of individuals is responsible for
understanding what was sold and how to deliver it.
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Ultimate responsibility for a successful implementa-

tion falls squarely on the vendor. Having a good pro-
duct doesn’t do much if you can’t make it work the
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way a client wants. Actions of the client or consulting

group may be the cause of a failed implementation
but it is the vendors name on the product.

The Consultant or Third Party

Consultants if used, essentially play the role of pro-

ject management. They are responsible for making
sure that customer expectations and vendor product
are set up correctly to achieve the desired goals.
joliprint

Whether consultants act as pure facilitators, guides

or are contracted to perform the actual set-up of
the system is irrelevant. However, it is critical that
consultants understand the expectations of both
Printed with

customer and vendor.

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