Three court cases reveal the importance of ensuring that contracts for an ERP software system and other digital transformations be carefully negotiated to remove the possibility that a lawsuit over a failure can be blocked by, seemingly harmless clauses that vendors and integrators insert as a matter of routine in their template agreements. The first case involves an ERP software system sold by IBM to Lufkin Industries LLC (Int’l Bus. Mach. Corp. v. Lufkin Indus.,…

It’s been said that to succeed in today’s digital world, every company must be a technology-first organization that also specializes in another industry. Cloud computing is the operating model that’s fueling the digital transformation, modernizing IT platforms around the globe. It involves software and other hosted services rented from sources like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) and delivered over the Internet. Chicago partner, Marcus Harris was part of an industry expert panel who…

After retiring from a wildly successful career running Ford and then saving Chrysler from bankruptcy, Lee Iacocca was asked by an interviewer how American automakers could have allowed their globally dominant position in the market to be eroded by foreign car companies. Iacocca replied, “There is nothing more vulnerable than entrenched success.” It’s not just car manufacturers where hubris has cost a business its market position. Who remembers that photocopiers were invented by 3M using…

When an ERP software system implementation fails, sometimes it’s because the vendor told a potential buyer that its round peg would fit into the user’s square hole in order to make the sale. But maybe even more often, the failure is because the integrator either did not fully understand the user’s industry or business, the client’s relationship with its supply chain, customers and employees, or how the digital transformation was intended to improve corporate performance.…

Offer and Acceptance . . . by Inquiry Notice. This is not a traditional understanding of contract law, but then again, internet sites do not always provide traditional contracts. Recently, a district court cited 9th Circuit precedent in deciding that because an online user had “at least inquiry notice of his need to comply with the Terms in using the website, and he continued to use the site knowing he was bound by the Terms,…

Taft partner Marcus Harris will be a keynote speaker at the Digital Stratosphere event August 7-9, at Thompson Chicago Hotel. Digital Stratosphere is the premier independent educational and peer networking event for organizations about to embark on a digital transformation or ERP / CRM/ HCM implementation. This is a premier event with limited seating. This is an opportunity to jumpstart your digital transformation initiatives. It will provide the best practices and lessons require to make…