Write a report summarizing:

- for each project selected, a brief summary of what occurred

- significant common factors evident in all failures that contributed to the project failures

Hershey Foods Corporation

In 1996, Hershey’s set out to upgrade its patchwork of legacy IT systems into an integrated ERP environment. Despite a recommended implementation time of 48 months, Hershey’s demanded a 30-month turnaround so that it could roll out the systems before Y2K. Based on these scheduling demands, cutover was planned for July of 1999. This go-live scheduling coincided with Hershey’s busiest periods – the time during which it would receive the bulk of its Halloween and Christmas orders. When the systems went live in July of 1999, unforeseen issues prevented orders from flowing through the systems. As a result, Hershey’s was incapable of processing $100 million worth of Kiss and Jolly Rancher orders, even though it had most of the inventory in stock. Hershey's revenues dropped by 12% during the third quarter of 1999 compared to the third quarter of 1998.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

It appeares that Hershey had set out to upgrade its patchwork of legacy IT systems into an integrate... View the full answer