9 Games ERP Consultants Play

By |January 14th, 2013|

  Most people in the ERP industry agree that software consultants can play a major role in helping their clients successfully implement a new ERP package. While some consulting firms have more expertise than others do, at least most firms try to operate with their client’s best interest in mind. However, many firms within the ERP industry are outright thieves. They will not hesitate to take advantage of their clients with consulting games to pad their own wallets. In fact, some firms are [...]

Guest Worker IT Firms Crash Then Burn When Investigating Visa Fraud

By |June 11th, 2012|

Several years ago, a gentleman by the name of Jack Palmer blew the lid on the entire Guest Worker scam at InfoSys. Anyone who has worked hard to establish their career in SAP (or other IT areas) the old-fashioned way, through hard work and perseverance, owes this man a huge debt of gratitude. He exposed how the whole guest worker program can be abused as he presented evidence on how one of the biggest guest worker companies routinely committed fraud. His complaint even alleges how the company b [...]

Protecting Yourself from SAP Consulting Fraud

By |October 17th, 2011|

One of the most pervasive problems with SAP or any other ERP project is the sheer amount of fraud. SAP fraud is so rampant with substantial financial effects, it would be seen as organized crime in any other industry. I have previously written about SAP consulting screening methods and required skills, but one key method filters through the con artists: simple experience verification. Few Staffing Firms Do Any Type of Skills or Experience Verification Many organizations that employ SAP periodic [...]

How the SAP Consulting Peter Principle Works

By |September 12th, 2011|

Most of us working in business for any period of time have heard of the “Peter Principle.” Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull formulated this concept in their 1968 book The Peter Principle, a humorous treatise which also introduced the "salutary science of Hierarchiology." [FN1] While the exact quote is slightly different, many interpret this as meaning that people tend to rise to their level of incompetence in organizations built on hierarchies. As an important caveat before getting into t [...]

Tips to Overcome Sales Tactics by ERP System Integrators

By |May 2nd, 2011|

This is the beginning of a series reviewing some of the typical tactics and sales scams many software vendors use to gain your business. This way, you can create a selection process that filters out such vendors.Rather than competing on merit, many vendors resort to various strategies or techniques that prevent you from gaining the critical insight you need to make the best possible decision. Their strategies and tactics deflect you from discovering any of their weaknesses, or even deceive you [...]

Scams, Shams, ERP System Integrator Tactics

By |April 25th, 2011|

I read two articles that I wanted to summarize and review here. The articles provide two opposing viewpoints of consulting and some lessons learned for service buyers.   This article on CIO about “7 Dirty Consultant Tricks (and How to Avoid Them)” [FN1] caught my attention. In particular, I was interested in the part about ways consultants try to “extract money from their clients…”: IT consultants are among the most slippery of the bunch. Among their favorite tricks: Using "scope change" t [...]