Birmingham City Council's recent meeting revealed serious issues in the implementation of its Oracle ERP system, following a report by Grant Thornton highlighting governance failures and a lack of executive ownership. Councillors expressed frustrations, particularly over missed deadlines and poor management during the transition from SAP to Oracle, which was expected to go live in April 2026. Experienced members noted the importance of senior involvement in ERP projects, citing a culture that discouraged negative feedback as a critical factor in the project's shortcomings.
Councillor Meiron Jenkins remarked on the implementation by stating, "Implementing ERP systems has been my life for 40 years... but this really is a one-off. It is truly remarkable what a complete mess you made of implementing it."
Councillor Albert Bore mentioned the previous 10-year joint venture with Capita for SAP, stating, "This ended in 2018, when the council took the decision to insource its IT function and move to a cloud-based Oracle ERP system."
The findings of the Grant Thornton report into the Oracle ERP project emphasize serious governance concerns, lack of ownership among senior executives, and a culture deterring negative feedback.
Jenkins pointed out that if senior managers are not closely involved in ERP details, the chance of failure increases significantly, saying, "And that's what's happened here..."
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