* Everyone in your organization from the database administrator to the receiving clerk to the CEO needs new skills to work with the new technology and business processes.

* Most companies must hire outside consultants to help accelerate and improve the implementation.

* In the early 1990s, almost half of the MRP/ERP implementation projects failed. Many of these early projects were either abandoned or were finished late and over budget. An industry of software implementation specialists was created to assist businesses with implementation projects.

* Many large and costly implementation projects have produced little or no return on investment for their owners other than to solve the Y2K problem. Several companies have actually observed a reduction in productivity in the first six to twelve months after starting their new systems.

* Many companies are surprised to discover the ERP implementation wasn't just a software replacement project, but the start of a continuous process of change, evolution, and improvement.

* Many implementation team members have discovered after the ERP project is over that their old jobs either no longer exist or are dull and insignificant.

* Package software can force you to make certain choices about how your business will operate, and you might introduce some constraints on your traditional business processes.

* In the mid-1990s when customers