Deploying an ERP system is one of the most expensive investments a mid-sized company will make in 5 years, and also one of the investments most likely to go wrong. According to Gartner statistics, 55-75% of ERP implementations fail to meet their original goals. Here are 10 mistakes we actually see at Slovak companies, with concrete stories and advice on how not to repeat them.
1. “Let’s pick what everyone else is using”
The problem: A company decides based on what it heard at a Rotary event or what its supplier uses, regardless of whether it fits its processes.
Real case: A distribution company from Banska Bystrica (18 employees) bought an ERP recommended by its accountant, who had worked with it at other clients. After a year they discovered that the system could not properly handle the consignment warehouse at their key customer. Cost of the workaround: 22,000 EUR and 9 months of delay.
Consequence: Wasted capital, team frustration, bad data for decision-making.
How to avoid it: Write down the 10 most critical processes of your company and compare based on those. Not based on the brand.
2. Overestimating your own “uniqueness”
The problem: “We have manufacturing nobody else has. We need a 100% custom system.”
Real case: A construction company from Nitra (28 people) invested 140,000 EUR in ERP customization because they thought their site manager log was unique. In reality, 95% of the functionality could be covered by a standard module. After 2 years they redid the project, in the cloud, with minimal customization.
How to avoid it: Most SMB companies are standard in 80% of their processes. Invest in custom only for the remaining 20% that is your real competitive advantage.
3. Underestimating data migration
The problem: “We’ll move the data from Excel into the new system. It’s just an import.”
Real case: An e-shop near Bratislava had 38,000 product cards and 12,000 customers in Pohoda, all with inconsistent categories, duplicates, and missing EAN codes. Cleaning before migration took 6 weeks and cost 8,400 EUR. If nobody had cleaned it, the new system would have been flooded with chaos on day one.
How to avoid it: Budget for data migration = 15-25% of the total project budget. Not 2%.
4. Buying ERP without testing on your own data
The problem: A company decides based on marketing videos and generic demos.
Real case: A packaging manufacturer from Presov bought an ERP after 2 meetings and a PowerPoint demo. Only during deployment did they discover that the system does not support multi-level bills of materials typical for their products. Cost of switching vendors after 11 months: 76,000 EUR.
How to avoid it: Demand a Proof of Concept with your real data. At minimum on 2-3 critical scenarios. If the vendor refuses, they are not your partner.
5. Focusing only on license price
The problem: “Modulario is 39 EUR per month, competitor X is 27 EUR. The cheaper one wins.”
Real case: A law office from Kosice chose the cheaper system. A year later they discovered they were paying extra for every PDF export, every API call, and “premium support.” Real TCO was 64% higher than the originally pricier competitor.
How to avoid it: Calculate Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over 3 years: licenses + implementation + integrations + training + maintenance. The solution comparison helps you do an apples-to-apples comparison.
6. Bad chemistry with the vendor, but the contract signing is already in motion
The problem: A company senses from the start that the vendor’s consultant “isn’t listening.” They sign anyway because time has already been invested in pre-selection.
Real case: An automotive parts wholesaler (22 people) ignored the signals: the consultant was late, did not remember details from the previous meeting. Implementation finished 11 months past the deadline, with 4 escalations to the vendor’s management.
How to avoid it: The people on the vendor’s implementation team matter more than their logo. Ask for the CVs of specific consultants, not “senior expert.”
7. KPIs not defined before the start
The problem: “We’ll know it when we see it.”
Real case: An HR agency with 14 employees deployed a CRM module without defining success. After 8 months nobody could say whether there was business impact. The “wasted” project was hard to defend before the general assembly.
How to avoid it: Before signing the contract, write down 5 concrete KPIs, e.g. “shorten invoice issuance from 3 days to 1 day,” “increase warehouse accuracy to 99%,” “save 2 hours per day on reporting.”
8. Forgetting the role of key users
The problem: ERP is selected by the owner and IT. The accountant, warehouse worker, and salesperson find out at the training.
Real case: A wood-products manufacturer (31 people) deployed a warehouse module that warehouse staff refused to use, a single button operation took them longer than the old paper notebook. The project stalled for 4 months until the UI was reworked.
How to avoid it: At least one key user from every critical department must be on the scoring team. And must have veto power.
9. Overlooking integration reality
The problem: “It can surely be connected with Pohoda/the e-shop/payroll.”
Real case: A wholesaler had an e-shop on Shoptet, accounting in Pohoda, and a new ERP. “It can be connected” turned out to mean developing a custom middleware for 18,400 EUR that crashes with every Shoptet update.
How to avoid it: Demand a list of ready-made connectors (not “REST API is universal”). Ideally with references from companies that actually use the integration.
10. “We’ll buy and deploy. People can study the rest themselves.”
The problem: Training budget = 1 day, “people will learn the rest while working.”
Real case: A construction company paid 42,000 EUR for the ERP and 600 EUR for training. After 6 months, half of the employees were bypassing the system, doing things in Excel and manually re-typing them into the system. The investment effectively zero.
How to avoid it: Plan 5-10% of the budget for training and change management. Short video tutorials, role-based courses, internal champions. Without this, any system is an expensive toy.
Tip for owners: The best ERP selection is not the “best on the market,” but the one that best fits your processes, your team, and your budget. Humility in decision-making pays back many times over.
Conclusion
Each of these 10 mistakes cost a real Slovak company tens of thousands of EUR. The good news is that all of them can be caught preventively, you just need a clear process when selecting ERP and not fall in love with the first system you see.
Planning a new ERP selection and want to avoid these mistakes? Browse our module overview or check out the comparison with competitors. And when you are ready, reach out for a free consultation, we will help you define criteria before you sign a contract.