The Great ERP Carve-Out Adventure

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Intro: Measure Twice, Carve Out Once?

There’s an old saying, “measure twice, cut once.” In the world of ERP carve-outs, it’s more like measuring until your tape measure gives up. Trust me, I’ve been around the ERP block – from joint ventures to mergers, and the infamous carve-outs. It’s never just a walk in the park

The Art of Keeping it MECE

Diving into an ERP carve-out is like playing a game of high-stakes Tetris. I like to keep things MECE (Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive) – it’s my inner MBB consultant showing off (thanks, Wikipedia!). The trick is to figure out who gets what in this corporate game of musical chairs – what stays with RemainCo (the parent group) and what goes to SpinCo (the entity being spun off)

The Front Line: Data Sorting

Picture yourself in a detective show, sifting through piles of data to figure out who owns what. We’re talking resources, software, hardware, infrastructure – the whole shebang. Messy CMDBs and outdated files turn this into an episode of a mystery thriller. The goal? Sort out what’s for RemainCo, what’s for SpinCo, what’s shared, cloned, segregated, deleted, replaced, or just left behind

Choosing Sides: The Political ERP Tug-of-War

Here’s where it gets spicy. ERP resources are like players in a high-stakes game, trying to bet on the winning horse (and hoping it’s not a pony). It’s a mix of excitement and fear as everyone wonders which side of the new horizon they’ll land on. Fun times in Carve-out Ville!

The Party Mix: Four (or More) Teams

Imagine throwing a party where everyone needs to coordinate but no one knows the dance steps. You’ve got:

  1. SpinCo’s internal business and digital teams
  2. SpinCo’s SI partner – ideally the same as RemainCo’s for less drama
  3. RemainCo’s own business and digital teams
  4. RemainCo’s partner – because double-dipping is a no-no
  5. The cherry on top: a selective data transition partner, often the ERP vendor playing referee

Separation Anxiety: Keeping the Business Boat Afloat

The main goal? Separate without capsizing the business ship. It’s like trying to smoothly split a Siamese twin. Sometimes there’s no buyer, so you need to keep options open – maybe a partial separation with some shared services and agreements

Block Points: The Tricky Triad

  1. Shared Business Processes: Redesigning these is like untangling headphone wires – necessary but frustrating
  2. Data Drama: Shared data rules mean extra homework for data lifecycle tools
  3. Integration Agony: Adding another landscape to the mix? Brace yourself for new middleware, tools, and patterns. It’s like opening Pandora’s box of IT fun

Side Quest: Budget Blues

SpinCo, the smaller entity, can’t always swing the big bucks like RemainCo. It’s like wanting a Bugatti on a bicycle budget

The Carve-Out Toolbox: Choose Your Weapon

Options galore: Clone & Run (data and all), Clone & Delete Data, or Clone (Shell Copy) & Selectively Transit Data. It’s like choosing the right tool for a heist – each needs time to be perfected, rehearsals included

The Final Countdown: Deletion Dilemmas

Teams work like data ninjas, deleting non-SpinCo elements while RemainCo plays it safe, waiting to hit the delete button until SpinCo is all set up and running. It’s like keeping a safety net, just in case SpinCo needs to boomerang back temporarily



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