Guy Van Eetvelde

Your ERP will be implemented by junior consultants. Wait, what? The vendor? A well-known consulting firm. The pre-sales guy? Polished, responsive, knowledgeable. The implementation team? Nowhere near that level. Why? It’s all about the margins. Juniors + offshore do the work. Seniors are sprinkled across multiple projects to chaperone them. If you didn’t know it – now you know it. This is a typical delivery model for big 4. Let’s just accept it. Results? ·      Longer delivery with poor quality ·      High risk of ERP failure ·      Fragile architecture ·      Strapped customer satisfaction I witnessed this with one of my clients. Supply Chain Planning module was poorly implemented. And we had to spend another 6 months after go live to reimplement it. You might think that you are safer with a big consulting firm. That might be opposite. Now contrast that with a boutique ERP firm I worked with later. * Same people doing the discovery were there for kickoff. * Same people stayed through go-live and post-launch support. * The client never had to ask, “Who are you again?” That’s the hidden advantage of small ERP shops. Not more logos. Not bigger teams. But continuity. Ownership. Relationships that last beyond the proposal deck. To sum up. Control who does the work. This will ensure the success of your ERP implementation. #TheERPGuy

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When I joined PwC as an ERP Consultant, I discovered there are two paths: 1️⃣ Functional (where accounting backgrounds shine) 2️⃣ Technical (where SQL/database skills rule) I asked myself: Why limit myself to just functional? 💡 So, I’ve started learning Oracle Database SQL to bridge the gap! I am going to post my complete journey of learning oracle database sql as I continue to learn more and more. Here’s What I’ve Learned in Just 2-3 Days:  Database Architecture Explained: • Relational Databases: Data organized in tables with relationships (like Excel sheets but supercharged) • Pluggable Databases: Self-contained environments that share resources (think apartments in a building) Database Objects Demystified: Schema Objects (the core components): Tables: Your data containers (like spreadsheets) Views: Virtual tables showing specific data Indexes: The database's "search engine" for faster queries Non-Schema Objects (the support system): Roles: Permission groups for security Directories: File system references Profiles: User resource limits 📊 Data Types in Action: VARCHAR2: For text (names, descriptions) NUMBER: For all numeric data DATE: For temporal data (with time precision) CLOB/BLOB: For large text/binary data ✏️ SQL Statement Essentials: • DDL (Data Definition Language): CREATE, ALTER, DROP (building your database structure) • DML (Data Manipulation Language): SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE (working with your data) • DCL (Data Control Language): GRANT, REVOKE (security management) 💡 Powerful Query Features: Column Aliases: sql SELECT employee_name AS "Full Name" FROM employees; Copy Download SELECT employee_name AS "Full Name" FROM employees; (Makes your results more readable) DISTINCT/UNIQUE: sql SELECT DISTINCT department FROM employees; Copy Download SELECT DISTINCT department FROM employees; (Eliminates duplicate values) Concatenation Magic: sql SELECT first_name || ' ' || last_name AS full_name FROM employees; Copy Download SELECT first_name || ' ' || last_name AS full_name FROM employees; (Combines columns with the || operator) Arithmetic Operations: sql SELECT salary * 1.1 AS "New Salary" FROM employees; Copy Download SELECT salary * 1.1 AS "New Salary" FROM employees; (Perform calculations directly in queries) 🔍 NULL Values Revealed: Special marker for missing/unknown data Behaves differently in comparisons and calculations Requires IS NULL/IS NOT NULL checks ⚙️ Practical Applications: Creating cleaner reports with column aliases Identifying unique values with DISTINCT Building dynamic text outputs with concatenation Performing on-the-fly calculations 🌱 What's Next in My Journey: Mastering table joins (the real superpower) Exploring advanced functions Applying these to real ERP scenarios To my network: SQL experts: What was your "breakthrough" moment? Fellow consultants: How has SQL helped your ERP work? #OracleSQL #ERPConsulting #PwC #DatabaseDesign #ACCA #TechSkills #DataAnalytics #CareerGrowth

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Dynamics 365 F&O vs Oracle & Other ERP Solutions   In today’s competitive business landscape, selecting the right ERP is crucial. More and more EMEA-based companies are choosing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (F&O) over Oracle Cloud ERP and other alternatives.    Why? The numbers speak for themselves: 🍀 Seamless Microsoft Ecosystem Integration – D365 F&O works natively with Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Excel, Teams), enabling better collaboration and efficiency. 🍀 Flexibility & Customisation – Unlike rigid alternatives, D365 F&O adapts to your business needs, making it ideal for organisations with complex processes across multiple regions. 🍀 Scalability for Mid-to-Large Enterprises – Whether you're an SMB or a multinational, D365 F&O grows with you, supporting rapid expansion without costly overhauls. 🍀 Cost-Effective & Predictable Pricing – The subscription model reduces large upfront costs and allows for better financial planning. 🍀 Improved Talent & Customer Support – Microsoft continues to expand its D365 talent pool and enhance customer experience, ensuring smooth implementations and long-term success.   Let’s connect and discuss how D365 F&O can help your business scale!   #Dynamics365 #D365 #MicrosoftERP #DigitalTransformation #EMEA #ERP #D365Talent #ERPTransformation  

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❌ Your Partner Is NOT Your ERP Team ❌ Six months after go-live, CFOs are still waiting for a “tiny” report tweak... 📊📊 Your D365 partner might say: “Sure: $7k and a 4-week lead time.” Meanwhile the factory floor is back on spreadsheets and the ops manager is Googling “ERP replacement.” 🤦🤦‍♂️ The net result: ❌ Roadmap in handcuffs: every tweak queues behind the partner’s other clients. ❌ Change ≠ cheap: hourly-rate maths turns small asks into budget-killers. ❌ Knowledge drain: the moment your partner logs off, so does 80 % of your system know-how. ❌ Morale crash: users stop logging tickets because “it takes forever.” The strategy to avoid this could have started months ago. Here's what I recommend: ✔️ Hire or upskill a lean, cross-functional squad: business analysts, devs, super-user leads ✔️ Give them product ownership: backlog, release cadence, KPIs ✔️ Keep the partner for spikes & strategy, not everyday plumbing ✔️ Have senior contractors on hand to plug gaps ✔️ Measure success in days/weeks, not quarters ❌❌ Caution: ❌❌ Results might be fantastic 🤣🤣 One client slashed partner spend by +$500k and shipped 37 improvements in year one. Decisions no longer waited for a Timesheet Tuesday approval. Small projects & enhacements are delivered in days. What’s the biggest win your internal ERP team ever delivered? Or the nightmare that happened when you didn’t have one 👀👀 Drop your war story below. 👇

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