Internal IT Team: The Soul of a Million-Dollar ERP Project
Don't let your million-dollar ERP project fail due to a lack of an internal IT team with a management mindset. Real-world lessons.
Many CEOs in Vietnam still mistakenly believe that spending millions of USD on SAP or Oracle and hiring a top-tier implementation partner (Vendor) is enough. This mistake is paid for in cash—lots of it.
After 20 years in ERP and SCM, I’ve realized one truth: Vendors only walk with you for a segment of the journey, but your Internal IT Team is the one staying to operate the “heart” of the enterprise. If this team is weak, your million-dollar system will soon become nothing more than a bloated Excel sheet.
1. Don’t Hire “Coders,” Hire “Solution Architects”
The most common mistake is hiring programmers who only know how to write code. In an ERP project, you need people who understand Business Processes. They must know why a warehouse release note affects accounting entries according to VAS (Vietnamese Accounting Standards).
“A great ERP IT specialist is not the one who writes code the fastest, but the one who dares to say ‘No’ to unreasonable customization requests from users.”
2. The Three Pillars of an Ideal Internal IT Team
To operate a large-scale system, your team structure must balance technical skills and business logic:
| Role | Key Responsibility | Essential Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Functional Lead | Translating business requirements into system solutions. | Deep understanding of Finance, SCM, HRM. |
| Technical Lead | Managing infrastructure, Database, and integration. | SQL, Security, System Optimization. |
| Project Manager (PMO) | Controlling timeline, risk management, and budget. | Risk Management, Multi-level communication. |
3. Real-world Lesson: The “Vendor Trap”
In the Vietnamese market, I have seen many businesses held “hostage” by their implementation partners. When errors occur or minor changes are needed to comply with new Ministry of Finance circulars, the business has to wait for weeks and pay exorbitant fees.
Building a strong internal team helps you master the Data Architecture. When you own the data, you own the power. Don’t let your data become a “black box” to which you don’t hold the key.
4. Management Mindset: From ERP to Personal Finance
Looking broader, building an IT team for a business is much like designing a Real Estate or Insurance portfolio. You cannot leave everything to the brokers. You must be the one who understands the rules of the game, holds the core, and only hires experts to optimize the parts outside your expertise.
Conclusion: The success or failure of an ERP project does not lie in the software; it lies in the people. Invest in your internal IT team as you would invest in your company’s most strategic asset.
Nguyen Manh Tuong Systems & Management Expert