My reply based upon the implementation of new ERP system with a company I worked for a few years back.
The old system had become somewhat outmoded in that we had "bolt-on" applications that were outside the system. (For example, to print Bills of Lading, we had ship items within the system, then go "outside" the the system to a separate application and re-enter the information to print BOL's.)
We formed a team from every department within our company and solicited companies to come and present their product to the team.
After enduring 12 presentations, we invited 5 companies back for testing. Management insisted we include a 6th of their choosing.
After running months of meetings and testing, the team came to a consensus on a system that truly meet the vast majority of all our requirements.
However, Corporate overruled our recommendation and chose the 6th system. (The one they had insisted we include in our testing.)
It was a disaster. The system lacked much of the functionality we required. In fact it was still in development and many functions required for our business, simply did not exist. (E.g. Inventory management was pretty much non-existent. There was no way to convert raw materials into finished goods, ship or otherwise remove items from inventory. We had to write BOL's out by hand. Since I worked closely with purchasing, they complained that there was no ordering functions, they had to calculate everything by hand, and then hand write PO's.)
The reasons why we ended up with a worse system then what we started with.
1. The accounting folks liked the new system. It had started life as a pure accounting package. The software company was developing/expanding into the Manufacturing/Distribution market.
2. Our IT folks liked them. Why? They had gotten a ton of free meals and other swag from this company. They had "bonded". (Sadly, our IT folks were the "weak link" in the company.)
3. Since it was still in development, it could be had for a substantial discount compared to other systems. Plus they promised to work closely with us to develop the system to our needs. (Yeah, right
)
So in the end all our hard work was for naught. Our company had pre-chosen the winner. Our team was supposed to reach the same conclusion. The sense of betrayal was palpable. What had been a happy, even fun place to work became a "Us vs Them" warzone. High quality people were soon headed to the lifeboats. The company rapidly spiraled out of control and was pretty much sold for it's remaining inventory (at a discount) two and half years later.
A case study in how not to do it.