Is SAP ERP Good Because it Won Against Other Options?

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Executive Summary

The concept is sometimes promoted because SAP ERP is popular, it must lead to good outcomes for customers.
What were the true reasons for SAP ERP’s popularity?

Introduction to SAP ERP Being Popular as an Argument

We recently found this quote on ECC regarding its popularity.

See our references for this article and related articles at this link.

“R/3 in its days – before SAP had the dominant market position it has today – did win against most of the options on the market so it had some merit. “

How SAP Sold Out Customers to Corrupt Consulting Firms

There are many things to say here. First, SAP was the most aggressive vendor in giving away it is consulting to consulting firms. These firms, in turn, recommended SAP. Not because SAP was right or the correct fit, but because it allowed them to make the most money. Therefore, the playing field was not level. Consequently, it is not at all evident that this was a good decision merely because many companies selected ECC.

How is SAP Degrading Customer’s Investments into SAP?

Moreover, as I observed, that initial decision is looking worse and worse as SAP is changing the terms of the deal by giving customers a bad upgrade option in S/4HANA and by using indirect access to illegally push the account to buy SAP. Customers now deal with an SAP that is making up false constructs (like Type 2 indirect access) to control them. SAP thinks and behaves as if they are owed a certain percentage of the IT budget, even if the customer does not want to use their software. A vendor that acts this way is a liability to have in the building. SAP will be pummelling its customers for the next two decades. Every year that passes will likely increase the regret that they ever purchased SAP.

Who Likes ECC, Customers or SAP Consultants?

There is no evidence that ERP systems are beneficial to customers that implement them. I can say I have never seen an SAP account particularly happy with ECC. Users also do not enjoy working with ECC. They find it a burden and SAP is frequently lampooned at my client sites. It is also often commented that the system does not live up to expectations or is otherwise “takes forever” to “get things done.” ECC frequently appears to be a system that was forced on the users by the executives rather than a system that users want to use. The people who are happy with ECC, are consultants who make money from ECC.

The most prominent defenders or ECC or SAP on LinkedIn are never customers. They are SAP consultants who say a lot of unscientific things to defend their source of income. 10 out of 10 SAP consultants enjoy billing hours for SAP. I keep pointing to academic research that no other ERP consultant has read and that no ERP consultant is interested in reading. That is the academic consensus of decades of papers on the subject demonstrates no ROI from ERP systems.