If you’re knee-deep in an ERP rollout and wondering why it feels like you’re stuck in quicksand, you’re not alone. Scroll through any thread of people who’ve lived through ERP migrations and you’ll see the same themes: delays, scope creep, frustration, burnout—and oddly enough, no real finish line.
ERP implementations are notoriously painful. But here’s the kicker: that pain isn’t necessarily because you’re doing something wrong. It’s often because you’re doing something important.
“It Never Really Ends”—and That’s Not Just a Meme
One of the most upvoted comments from a technical ERP consultant says it plainly: “For companies who are constantly optimizing, the answer is ‘no’—ERP is never really done.”
Even after the system is live, the updates, tweaks, and integrations keep coming. New business requirements emerge. Someone needs a custom report. That label printer you forgot about won’t work. A new manager joins and wants changes. The cycle never really stops.
One user admitted they’d been working full-time on the same system for eight years after go-live. Another joked, “It’s been 7 years. Still feels like we’re switching.”
Six-Month Timelines Are Fantasy
Several commenters echoed the same message: the idea that an ERP system can be rolled out in six months is, for most businesses, fiction.
Sure, you might get a sandbox environment up in that time if you’ve got a basic setup. But a functioning, fully integrated, trained-up system across departments? Not a chance.
“Six months is the best-case execution timeline—after you’ve already spent two years analyzing and documenting everything,” one user who led a manufacturing ERP project explained.
Even a limited scope migration for a single production line with just 16 products took one company six months of testing before they were comfortable going live. And that was just one piece of a much larger business.
Data: The Silent Killer
If there’s one detail that consistently derails ERP projects, it’s data.
People think the system is the hard part. In reality, it’s the messy, inconsistent, undocumented, and outdated data that drags the project down. It’s where years of “just make it work for now” come back to haunt you.
“It’s all about the data—it’ll get you every time,” said one veteran in job scoping.
Poorly documented processes, custom Excel macros nobody understands, and Frankenstein-like Access databases lurking in back offices all contribute to painful surprises during migration.
Overcustomization = Long-Term Pain
ERP vendors often market their systems as 80% ready out of the box. The problem? That last 20% is what makes your business your business—and it’s also what creates a nightmare to maintain.
Many users shared horror stories of systems so customized they became unrecognizable—and unmanageable. One person summed it up: “You end up with a patchwork quilt of custom licenses. Then the product gets discontinued, and you’re forced to switch again.”
The lesson? Only customize when there’s a crystal-clear ROI. Otherwise, you’re just writing future problems into your system.
Why the First ERP Migration Feels Like Surgery
A comment that struck a nerve:
“An ERP migration (especially the first one) exposes the areas of your business that were succeeding by accident.”
That’s not hyperbole. ERP requires a company to define and document every part of its operation. If you’ve been coasting on tribal knowledge or duct-tape processes, this will be the moment they collapse.
Many teams realize—too late—that nobody actually knows how some things really work. Or worse, that key people are about to retire without ever documenting how they do their jobs.
ERP Is About People—Not Just Software
Something that came up again and again was how often the failure isn’t technical—it’s human.
You need the right mix of leadership, internal champions, cross-department buy-in, and time. And yet, companies regularly under-resource their ERP projects, hand it to overstretched PMs, or rely too heavily on consultants who don’t understand the business.
One of the most successful projects described in the thread involved moving five internal business experts into the IT team full-time for two years. They acted as subject matter experts, validators, and guides. It worked—because the people who knew the business were embedded in the process from the start.
The Burnout Is Real
Several commenters shared that leading or working on ERP projects nearly broke them.
One said, “Still recovering my health” after their project. Another quipped that the ERP rollout was so bad, their company went bankrupt. Twice.
Others were more optimistic, sharing that the hard lessons of the first implementation made future rollouts smoother. Still, everyone agreed on one thing: this work is not for the faint of heart.
Final Thoughts: You’re Not Failing—You’re Just in It
If your ERP implementation feels endless, chaotic, or overwhelming, take a breath. This is normal. What you’re dealing with is complex, disruptive, and affects every corner of your business.
The goal isn’t to finish—it’s to adapt, to improve steadily, and to make sure the system works for you (not the other way around). A lot of companies give up too soon or get caught in blame games. Don’t. Learn from the challenges, avoid chasing perfection, and build the thing one step at a time.
If there’s one silver lining, it’s this: next time, you’ll know exactly what you’re walking into.
And that alone makes you dangerous—in a good way.