Déjà vu in retail

Another way to put it: despite massive support from SAP, the system was driven to the wall - a total loss. They want to reactivate the old system because they don't think the SAP installation has a chance of survival.

An Austrian trading company had a similar experience many years ago: The SAP project imploded and could not be saved. But the then and current CIO chose a different path: instead of turning off the power to the SAP system, he simply sent all the SAP consultants from Walldorf out the door - it was a prestige project for SAP and only the best were sent to Austria.

But it didn't help! The CIO put a stop to the project and invested heavily in his own staff and training. After about a year, he resumed the project work with mainly his own team - and led it to an undisputed, great success.

What do we learn from this? SAP software doesn't have to be bad, but customizing should be carried out as far as possible with in-house expertise. SAP in Walldorf has only a limited understanding of real life, as Lidl has now painfully realized.