ERP implementations have earned a reputation for being painful.
They’re long. They’re stressful. They consume internal resources. And even when they technically succeed, teams often feel exhausted by the time they reach go-live.
What’s surprising is that this difficulty is often treated as unavoidable. ERP projects are assumed to be hard simply because ERP systems are “complex.”
At Stellar One, we’ve seen something very different. Across implementations of all sizes, the hardest ERP projects usually aren’t the most complex businesses. They’re the ones weighed down by unnecessary decisions, overthinking, and self-imposed complexity.
In this article, we’ll answer the following questions:
- Why Do ERP Implementations Feel Harder Than They Need to Be?
- How Does Choice Become the Enemy of Progress in ERP Implementations?
- Why Is Immediately Getting Everything “Right” in an ERP System the Wrong Goal?
- What Actually Makes ERP Implementations Easier?
- What Is the Role of Simplicity in ERP Implementation Success?
- Who Causes Difficult ERP Implementations?
- How Does Stellar One Remove Unnecessary Complexity in ERP Deployment?
- How Do Easier Implementations Create Better Long-Term Results?
By the end, you’ll understand why ERP implementations feel so difficult, and you’ll know what to look for and what to avoid in your own implementation.
Why Do ERP Implementations Feel Harder Than They Need to Be?
To understand why ERP implementation feels so difficult, we need to look at what teams are really struggling with throughout the process.
ERP systems touch nearly every part of a business. That alone creates pressure. From finance and operations to sales, inventory, and leadership, everyone has a stake. When decisions feel permanent and far-reaching, teams slow down to avoid mistakes.
But the real difficulty usually isn’t the system itself. It’s the volume of decisions teams believe they need to make.
Modern ERP platforms offer flexibility in:
- Naming conventions
- Numbering sequences
- Field labels
- Workflow variations
- Report layouts
Each choice feels small in isolation, but together, they create decision overload.
Instead of focusing on outcomes, teams get stuck debating details that have little actual impact on how the business performs.
How Does Choice Become the Enemy of Progress in ERP Implementations?
ERP implementations stall when teams confuse flexibility with necessity.
Just because a system allows something doesn’t mean it should be changed. But when options are presented without context, every choice feels equally important, which leads to familiar patterns:
- Long meetings about terminology
- Reworking screens to match legacy language
- Debates over formatting instead of functionality
- Delayed decisions due to fear of “getting it wrong”
Ironically, many of these decisions are reversible. Field names can be updated later, reports can evolve, and workflows can be refined.
Treating every choice as final turns implementation into a slow-motion negotiation instead of a focused project.
Why Is Getting Everything “Right” up Front in an ERP System the Wrong Goal?
Many ERP teams believe success depends on perfect decisions from day one. That belief is understandable, but misguided.
ERP systems are designed to evolve. They’re used daily, refined over time, and improved as the business grows. Trying to anticipate every future need during implementation creates artificial pressure.
Instead of learning by using the system, teams try to predict outcomes they can’t yet see, which leads to:
- Over-analysis
- Customization before understanding real usage
- Delayed go-lives
- Frustration when assumptions don’t hold up
In short, teams are asked to decide too much, too early, for their ERP implementation to go smoothly. On the contrary, embracing an iterative process will allow for change at a functional level where it makes the most sense.
What Actually Makes ERP Implementations Easier?
The easiest ERP implementations share one thing in common: focus. They prioritize decisions that materially impact outcomes and defer everything else.
That means:
- Accepting standard terminology where possible
- Using default workflows unless there’s a clear reason not to
- Avoiding cosmetic changes early
- Letting real usage inform later refinement
This mindset removes enormous friction from the process.
“One of the biggest reasons that ERP implementations drag on is that you have too many choices you can make, most of which are immaterial to the outcomes you are trying to achieve.”
—Richard Sellar, Stellar One CEO
When teams stop trying to optimize everything at once, progress accelerates.
What Is the Role of Simplicity in ERP Implementation Success?
When ERP implementations focus on core processes instead of preferences, teams:
- Learn the system faster
- Reach go-live sooner
- Build confidence earlier
- Reduce rework
Simplicity also makes it easier to bring new users aboard. Standard language, standard flows, and standard logic reduce dependency on tribal knowledge.
This is especially important after go-live, when the system becomes part of daily operations.
Here's a quick look at how we view implementations and their simplification.
Who Causes Difficult ERP Implementations?
ERP providers are often blamed when projects feel painful, but in many cases, difficulty is introduced internally, through well-intentioned attempts to control outcomes.
Teams want certainty. They want familiarity. They want the new system to feel safe, so they add complexity to reduce discomfort.
Unfortunately, the result is the opposite.
The more teams customize, rename, and tweak early, the harder the system becomes to understand. The more decisions they force upfront, the slower progress becomes.
The bottom line is that hard ERP implementations aren’t caused by change. They’re caused by resisting it.
How Does Stellar One Remove Unnecessary Complexity in ERP Deployment?
At Stellar One, we’re deliberate about the language we use to describe this phase of the journey. We don’t talk about “ERP implementation.” We talk about ERP deployment.
That’s not a marketing distinction, but a reflection of how the process should feel. Modern ERP solutions shouldn’t require months of disruption, endless decision-making, or heavy lifting from internal teams. When done right, deploying an ERP platform should feel structured, guided, and low-effort for the people who actually have to keep the business running.
The word “implementation” implies complexity and burden. Deployment reflects a process that’s designed to be smooth, repeatable, and focused on outcomes. Stellar One approaches ERP implementation with a simple principle: Request fewer decisions that don’t matter.
Instead of presenting endless options, the focus is on guiding teams toward what works based on real-world experience across similar businesses.
This includes:
- Streamlining configuration choices
- Deferring nonessential personalization
- Focusing on outcomes instead of preferences
- Encouraging adoption of proven patterns
By narrowing the decision space, teams spend less time debating and more time moving forward. Deployment becomes a process of alignment, not negotiation. And while we’re at it, we work to make the financial implications of each ERP system just as simple as deployment.
How Do Easier Implementations Create Better Long-Term Results?
Fast, focused implementations reduce stress and improve outcomes.
When teams go live sooner, they:
- Learn faster
- Adapt earlier
- Identify real needs instead of hypothetical ones
- Build trust in the system
Long implementations drain momentum. Shorter, simpler ones preserve it.
ERP success is all about directing effort where it actually matters and dropping the fluff.
ERP Doesn’t Have to Be Hard to Be Effective
ERP implementations feel hard when they’re overloaded with unnecessary decisions.
They become manageable when teams accept that not everything needs to be perfect on day one and that many choices don’t materially affect success.
By focusing on what truly matters and letting the system evolve through use, we at Stellar One have seen ERP implementations become faster, clearer, and far less painful. Read more about our ERP deployment philosophy in our article about why ERP buyers rarely get the full picture before they buy.
Hard isn’t a requirement, and complexity isn’t a virtue. With the right approach, ERP implementation can be challenging without being overwhelming, and powerful without being painful. If you’re starting to feel a little less worried about the implementation process and think it’s time to consider an ERP platform for your own business, try our ERP Fit Quiz below.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Difficulty of ERP Implementations