A prospect told me recently:
“We need to replace our ERP, but we don’t have time to implement a new one right now. So we’re renewing the old system for another year.”
I understand the logic.
The problem is, next year tends to arrive with many of the same features as this year.
Orders still need to ship.
The books still need to close.
People still take vacations.
Something unexpected will still catch fire.
And eventually, somebody notices that renewal season is back.
So the plan becomes:
“We’ll do it next year.”
Which is how one renewal quietly turns into three.
Tom Petty said it best:
"the waiting is the hardest part"
Especially when you’re waiting for the mythical quarter when everyone has spare time.
That quarter does not exist.
At some point, the cycle only breaks when the project gets designed around the business as it actually operates — not around some future version where everyone suddenly has an empty calendar.
The interesting question is not:
“Do we need to replace the system?”
It is:
“How many more times are we going to renew the problem?”
Jim Rosenberg
President & CEO, NEO3
The Workaround — because every system has them.
