When the implementation went live in October there were problems with the order-to-cash process, despite it having been tested prior to the system going live. The problem was tracked down and Invacare said that it was not an issue with Oracle’s software but with Invacare’s specific configuration.
According to reports, Invacare CFO Greg Thompson said he had no complaints about Oracle and its handling of the situation and that the company had been helpful, working with Invacare to resolve the issue. Oracle remains quiet on the issue, its only comment being a brief statement: Oracle continues to work with Invacare on its ERP issues, and the company is already experiencing ERP improvements.
The situation echoes one that SAP AG and furniture retailer MFI found themselves in at the end of 2004 when MFI announced that its project to put SAP’s supply chain management software in place cost it 46m pounds ($81m) in lost sales, additional delivery costs, and extra IT work. Although neither company divulged the specifics of what went wrong, they did say it was not the software that was at fault.
