Experience with Consultants

[Six Sighted]

I have now been through two implementations of OneWorld XE, and its third-party applications, and have had just horrible experiences with consultants. Project plans being thrown out the window, go live dates being postponed and a general lack of knowlegde by the consultants.

I would love to put together some anecdotes and other stories regarding experience with consultants. Whether good or bad. If you have anything you would like to share....please email me at [email protected]

Thanks,

Marty

 

[peterban]

Marty,
As a consultant myself I sympathise with your comments. Unfortunately there
are good and bad consultants, indeed there are good and bad consultancies.
Unfortunately the bad stories are the ones that you hear, the good ones you
never hear.

Having worked for a JDE BP in the UK and done a fair amount of work in EU,
there are bad stories about all BP's and indeed JDE itself.

The only point I would make is take references on the consultants you are
going to bring on and get s strong PM that has JDE experience.

Peter

Peter Bannister : [email protected]
1st Consulting Ltd : www.1stconsulting.biz
Mobile : +(44)-7711-649358
Fax : +(44)-7739-256227
E-mail on the move : [email protected]



Product Specialist

 

[dale_draper]

All I know is, is to stay away from the the big one, Anderson, PWC, et. al.

They will send you wet behind the ears, just out of college kids who will
try to fit their theory to your reality. And bill you premium dollars to
educate their trainees.

Forgetaboutit.

Stick with the smaller specialty shops.

 

[Krofire.com]

I whole-heartedly agree with earlier comments about this post. I will drop you a note off-line, if you want to know more, but do not want to rubbish anybody. This is unprofessional. After a few years in the business you will realise that there is a hard-core of EXCELLENT Consultants out there. Clients of JDE can pick these people directly out of the marketplace. If you focus on individuals and not outsource this to someone else you can better gurantee quality.

Everybody was green and inexperienced once. It is difficult for many Consultancies to bring up the quality of their inexperienced recruits. They should be properly mentored and rise through the ranks. Unfortunately many 'big 5' Consulting firms throw inexperienced guys onto client site without appreciating the ERP skillset required. There are a few good agencies who will PROPERLY screen candidates for you. Generally speaking, the more direct contact you have with freelancers, then the better you know who is good and you get to trust them.

If you want to use a Business Partner there are also GOOD BP's but this is not as easy to identify - they have a certain "churn" of staff. My personal approach to this is for everyone to get their details online and to build a good cyber-space community of Consultants. This should give Clients better visibility.

In the final analysis, Clients have to be realistic about what Consultants can achieve. The impossible can be made possible but miracles take longer. Proper Project scoping is important and objectives have to be properly communicated. Once you get past the salesmen the realism hits home.

 

[amwalshjde]

Marty-

Yes there are good and bad consultants, but there are also good and bad clients. Good clients get the most from consultants (they get more from good consultants, and are smart enough to get rid of the bad ones) while bad clients can get bad results even from good consultants. Only by working together as a team, with good communication, and setting proper and realistic expectations will both sides ever be happy. 99% of the time it is not fair to blame just the consultants, or to just blame the client.

Aaron

 

[dale_draper]

Aaron, you are obviously a consultant. And one with little real world
experience I'd guess.

If you had ever been a client of a bad consulting company you would know
that executive politics plays a large role in who is chosen and why. And you
can't fire the company the president chose very easily, can you? Especially
when you have $500K already invested in the project. Nope, once the camel
has it's nose into the tent, the game's over. You gotta live with your
choices.

Make smart choices up front, get good references, from companies in similar
business lines preferably. Make sure you talk to more than just one person
at the other company, and listen carefully for things they may not be
saying.

Hell, don't be shy, use this list even. I don't know why you shouldnt be
able to ask "Does anyone have experience with company XYZ?"

If you are west of the Miss. river, email me for my specific reccomendation
if interested.


Aaron, Marty hit the nail exactly on the head. And I suspect he's a
consultant as well. One who's outlook would reccomend himself to me. If I
was in the market for one, which we are not. ( <-----vaccination from
unsolicited emails or calls!)

Dale
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