Our client lacked centralized procurement processes and tools to support its complex organization structure, which consisted of a parent company and 25+ subsidiaries. As such, procurement was a major pain point, and there was a critical need for a system that would centralize and optimize procurement processes.
To address these challenges, our client kicked off a two-phased project in August 2020. The first phase intended to implement Coupa P2P and integrate it with the existing NetSuite ERP. The second phase aimed to integrate Coupa P2P with SAP, which was to ultimately replace NetSuite as the organization’s future state ERP.
Phase one was targeted to go-live January 1, 2021 and phase two was targeted to go-live on October 1, 2021. Roughly eight weeks before the phase one go-live, it was clear that the project was significantly off track and the January 1, 2021 go-live was not going to happen.
What We Did
1. Conducted a Project Deep Dive
We conducted a project deep dive to understand what was going on. In doing so, we reviewed the system implementer’s statements of work to confirm key deliverables, timelines, resourcing, and fee structure. We also analyzed project spend to date. We determined that resources from the vendor lacked the necessary experience in several key roles including project management, business analysis, and solution architecture to effectively lead the project team through the implementation.
Moreover, we discovered that the Coupa SI had been planning to integrate the system with NetSuite, meanwhile the organization was actively implementing a new ERP (SAP) which was to go live in just a few months. This meant that significant re-work would need to be done to integrate Coupa with SAP once the new ERP was live.
In short, the Coupa SI was not leading the client through the implementation in a strategic and effective manner.
2. Presented our Recommendations
Once the vendor’s shortcomings were uncovered, we rapidly built a business case to change course. We recommended that our client offboard the existing Coupa SI and collaborated with the client and SAP implementation team to make a decision to pivot the approach to integrate with the new ERP. As a result, the vendor was offboarded, the project was re-scoped, and the go-live date was pushed to accommodate the new approach. When it came time to hire a new system implementation vendor, we helped to architect and execute the process whereby the new vendor was chosen.
3. Shepherded the Completion of Our Recommendations
We partnered with the finance team leader to build a supplier assessment questionnaire that was utilized to assess multiple vendors being considered. Additionally, we actively aided in the negotiation and contracting process to select the new system implementation vendor. Lastly, we helped the new vendor acclimate to the project and what had been accomplished to date. After the new vendor re-kicked off the project, they were able to deliver the full scope just six months thereafter.