I am sharing the following with you now. I will then provide the two different timelines graphics and reshare this again at the end.
The single most important question I want you to ask yourself is, what does today’s post tell me?
TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION (GRAPH A)
PRACTITIONER PERFORMANCE EVOLUTION (GRAPH B)
Here is a detailed timeline of major ProcureTech failures from the 1990s to the 2020s, with specific descriptions for each case:
1990s: FoxMeyer Drug’s SAP Implementation
- What Happened: $100M SAP ERP overhaul intended to modernize procurement and distribution. Rushed, poorly planned, and inadequately tested. The system processed only a fraction of intended orders, leading to operational chaos and bankruptcy.
- Impact: Hundreds of millions lost, company collapse, and a textbook ERP failure.
1996: Adidas Warehouse Management System Failure
- What Happened: Adidas’ new warehouse system failed after vendor bankruptcy, rushed go-live, and lack of readiness. Only 20% of $50M in orders could be filled.
- Impact: Lost market share, operational disruption, and staff turnover.
1997: Snap-on Tools Order Management Disaster
- What Happened: Faulty new order management system led to $50M in lost sales and 40% higher operating costs.
- Impact: 22% profit drop, long-term financial and operational harm.
1999: Hershey’s ERP Implementation Failure
- What Happened:
Hershey attempted a simultaneous “big bang” launch of SAP R/3 ERP, Manugistics SCM, and Siebel CRM. The project was rushed (30 months vs. the recommended 48) to beat the Y2K deadline, with corners cut on testing and training. The go-live coincided with Hershey’s busiest season (Halloween/Christmas orders). System failures prevented processing of $100M+ in orders, despite inventory being available. Data migration errors and poor change management compounded the crisis.
- Impact:
- $100–$150M in unfulfilled orders (Kisses, Jolly Ranchers, etc.)
- 19% drop in quarterly profits; 12% sales decline; 8% stock price drop
- Major reputational damage and supply chain paralysis during peak season
- Lessons Learned:
- Avoid big bang launches during peak periods
- Allow sufficient time for testing and phased rollouts
- Ensure cross-departmental alignment and robust contingency planning
2001: Nike Supply Chain Planning System
- What Happened: Software bugs and integration failures in a new supply chain system led to inventory imbalances, missed sales, and forced discounting.
- Impact: $100M revenue shortfall, 20% stock price drop.
2003–2007: Sainsbury’s Automated Fulfillment System
- What Happened: £150M invested in a highly automated warehouse system. Barcode/data errors, poor integration, and lack of employee buy-in led to scrapping the system after four years.
- Impact: Massive financial loss, operational disruption, and return to manual processes.
2011–2015: TradeShift’s Early E-Invoicing Push
- What Happened: Cloud-based e-invoicing platform faced usability and adoption issues; major clients like the UK NHS abandoned the system.
- Impact: Millions lost; company required years to recover.
2020: Hershey’s ERP Supply Chain Failure
- What Happened:
Hershey’s launched a new system just before Halloween, its busiest season. Integration issues and glitches prevented the fulfillment of $100 million in orders, causing an 8% stock drop in a single day.
- Impact:
Major revenue loss, reputational damage, and a classic example of poor timing and lack of thorough testing
2020–2023: GEP SMART Platform Stumbles
- What Happened: GEP’s AI/cloud suite encountered implementation nightmares and cost overruns, with several clients scaling back or abandoning the platform.
- Impact: Hundreds of millions in client losses and reputational damage.
2020s: AI & Digital Procurement “Pilot Purgatory”
- What Happened: 60–70% of AI-powered procurement pilots failed to scale, due to hype, lack of data readiness, skills gaps, and poor vendor alignment.
- Impact: $30–50B in global annual losses, delayed ROI, and increased skepticism.
Key Lessons Across Timeline:
- Rushed, “big bang” implementations, lack of thorough testing, poor change management, and misaligned go-live timing are recurring causes of catastrophic failure.
- Phased rollouts, rigorous testing, and cross-functional alignment are critical to success.
REVISITING THE OPENING PARAGRAPH
TODAY’S TAKEAWAY
It is essential to note that the above reference cases serve as an introduction to the numerous similar cases available in the Procurement Insights archives. For example, there are the VHA Bay Pines incident, the Kings County case, and Canada’s Way Forward in the public sector. In contrast, initiatives in the private sector, such as those by Whirlpool and Hewlett-Packard, highlight the broad challenges associated with most technology initiatives overall.
At what point do we shift from a technology-first mindset to one that focuses on the practitioner-provider alignment with the Metaprise, Agent-based, and Strand Commonality alignment?
If we don’t, then what is the purpose of the first timeline graph, and the corresponding Quadrants and conferences?
30
Procurement Insights
A Tale Of Two Timelines (Technology Vendor Versus Practitioner Performance Evolution 1990 to 2025)
Posted on June 30, 2025
0
I am sharing the following with you now. I will then provide the two different timelines graphics and reshare this again at the end.
The single most important question I want you to ask yourself is, what does today’s post tell me?
TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION (GRAPH A)
PRACTITIONER PERFORMANCE EVOLUTION (GRAPH B)
Here is a detailed timeline of major ProcureTech failures from the 1990s to the 2020s, with specific descriptions for each case:
1990s: FoxMeyer Drug’s SAP Implementation
1996: Adidas Warehouse Management System Failure
1997: Snap-on Tools Order Management Disaster
1999: Hershey’s ERP Implementation Failure
Hershey attempted a simultaneous “big bang” launch of SAP R/3 ERP, Manugistics SCM, and Siebel CRM. The project was rushed (30 months vs. the recommended 48) to beat the Y2K deadline, with corners cut on testing and training. The go-live coincided with Hershey’s busiest season (Halloween/Christmas orders). System failures prevented processing of $100M+ in orders, despite inventory being available. Data migration errors and poor change management compounded the crisis.
2001: Nike Supply Chain Planning System
2003–2007: Sainsbury’s Automated Fulfillment System
2011–2015: TradeShift’s Early E-Invoicing Push
2020: Hershey’s ERP Supply Chain Failure
Hershey’s launched a new system just before Halloween, its busiest season. Integration issues and glitches prevented the fulfillment of $100 million in orders, causing an 8% stock drop in a single day.
Major revenue loss, reputational damage, and a classic example of poor timing and lack of thorough testing
2020–2023: GEP SMART Platform Stumbles
2020s: AI & Digital Procurement “Pilot Purgatory”
Key Lessons Across Timeline:
REVISITING THE OPENING PARAGRAPH
TODAY’S TAKEAWAY
It is essential to note that the above reference cases serve as an introduction to the numerous similar cases available in the Procurement Insights archives. For example, there are the VHA Bay Pines incident, the Kings County case, and Canada’s Way Forward in the public sector. In contrast, initiatives in the private sector, such as those by Whirlpool and Hewlett-Packard, highlight the broad challenges associated with most technology initiatives overall.
At what point do we shift from a technology-first mindset to one that focuses on the practitioner-provider alignment with the Metaprise, Agent-based, and Strand Commonality alignment?
If we don’t, then what is the purpose of the first timeline graph, and the corresponding Quadrants and conferences?
30
Share this:
Related