Project Management on Pfisterer Consulting

The Weaker System Won: What a 12-Week M&A Integration Teaches About ERP Selection

Mon, 18 May 2026 07:00:00 +0200

Friday 18:00. 80 employees log out of their old ERP. Monday 08:00. The same 80 log into the new one.

The new one is objectively weaker.

Context: M&A integration. In 2025, an international corporation acquired an 80-person Mittelstand firm from professional services. Requirement: all systems and data into the corporate IT estate. Over a single weekend. No business interruption.

The corporate ERP could do less than the one it replaced. Different cost accounting, different reports, two incompatible data models. It still had to run.

ERP Selection in Mid-Sized Companies: Why the Requirements Document Is the Most Expensive Mistake

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100

The most thorough company I accompanied through an ERP selection chose the worst vendor. 200 pages of requirements. 6 months to write. 14 vendors contacted, 8 invited, 4 shortlisted. A process that any project management professor would have applauded.

The result: A system that perfectly fits the old processes — not the future ones. An implementation partner who impressed in the demo but was overwhelmed in execution. And a go-live that came 14 months later than planned.

Digitalization in Mid-Sized Companies: Why the IT Department Is the Wrong Project Leader

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100

“IT handles the ERP project.” This sentence comes up in almost every mid-sized company when it’s about an ERP migration, DATEV automation, or CRM project. Sounds logical — it’s about software. So it’s an IT topic.

That’s exactly the mistake. ERP, CRM, DATEV integration — these aren’t IT projects. They’re organizational projects with a technical component. This understanding is a core part of my ERP consulting for SMEs. When IT leads, discussions revolve around interfaces instead of business processes. Servers instead of workflows. Licenses instead of value creation.

Cloud Exit for SMEs: Why Companies Are Bringing Their ERP Systems Back

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0100

For five years, the message was clear: if you don’t move to the cloud, you’ll be left behind. The Bitkom Cloud Monitor confirmed rising adoption numbers year after year. Analysts, consultants, software vendors – everyone preached the same direction. On-premise was the legacy model. Anyone still running SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, or an industry-specific ERP on their own infrastructure was either brave or behind the times.

Now the mood is shifting. Not loudly, not on conference stages. But in the meeting rooms of IT leaders. The question is no longer “When do we move to the cloud?” – it’s: “Is it still worth it?” This strategic assessment is a core topic in my ERP consulting for SMEs.

ERP Migration: 5 Mistakes That Make Projects Fail

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0100

After over a decade of ERP projects, I keep seeing the same patterns. Technology is rarely the problem. Projects fail because of organization, expectations, and communication. These experiences form the foundation of my ERP consulting for SMEs.

Mistake 1: No Dedicated Project Manager on the Client Side

The ERP project is managed “on the side” by the IT director or CFO. Both already have a full-time job. The project gets whatever attention is left over — which is never enough.