Here you are a successful Oracle Applications manager working with a talented team of technical and functional professionals at a great company with a proven track record of success. Your team has successfully rolled out Oracle EBS and cloud solutions in Asia, Europe, Latin America and countless countries in between. You have an approach that works, and when it comes time to run a project in Brazil you know exactly what you need in order to succeed… Are you sure? Are you truly confident that your deployment plan will lead to success?

At TRI, a Peloton Consulting Group company we talk about four factors to consider before beginning a project in Brazil.

1. Statutory Issues
2. Business Process Standardization
3. Language and Communication
4. Cultural Differences

While it is true that these are important factors to manage when running any global ERP project, they are truly the foundation of an effort in Brazil. If you want to run your project as efficiently as possible, limit risk, while saving time and effort, then you must account for these factors when you plan your project. The methodology, resource plan, and even project milestones need to be designed in a way that marries global best practices with Brazilian requirements.

Consider the following example. During an Oracle EBS rollout project, a global finance analyst explains to the Brazilian project team that company policy requires that all invoices be issued via a custom program that was built to integrate with the company’s website. The Brazilian team partially understands the proposed solution, which was explained and documented in English. They have some minor concerns, based on their knowledge of Brazilian statutory requirements and Nota Fiscals, but they assume that the global team knows about these requirements and will design and build the new Oracle system to comply with their business needs. They respond simply, “ok”.

In the first or second test cycle, the local team in Brazil becomes more concerned because it is becoming increasingly apparent that the global team did not consider their business and statutory requirements in the design of the invoicing solution. However, they don’t strongly speak out for fear of either creating conflict with their global counterparts or because they are busy running the existing business in Brazil.

UAT arrives, the custom invoicing solution is presented for acceptance and signoff, and it is evident that it does not meet statutory requirements in Brazil. The Brazilian team shrugs their shoulders. They assumed the global team, and the consulting partners they hired, would have developed a solution that met local business needs. The global team is frustrated; their local team should have warned them. Why didn’t their consulting partner identify the solution gaps? Weeks of project time is lost, and hundreds of hours are still needed to come up with a solution that can meet both global AND local requirements.

This may seem like an overly obvious example. An, “it would never happen to us” sort of thing, but the truth is that TRI, a Peloton Consulting Group company sees large and mid-sized multi-nationals lose millions of dollars each year due to failed implementations in Brazil, because either they or their consulting partner assumed too much or attempted to reinvent the wheel when it comes to Oracle’s standard solution for Brazil.

If you are reading this blog entry and you know your team has an upcoming Brazil project on your IT roadmap, I will leave you with three thoughts for consideration.

1. While the solution and business rules may be complex, companies like yours operate in Brazil every day. You need to rely on Brazilians who understand Oracle’s solution for Brazil to help achieve success.

2. You should follow the rules and customary practices. Not all may be strictly statutory, but they are best practices that will allow you to avoid unnecessary risk or regulatory attention.

3. Most importantly, do your research and find a knowledgeable local Oracle implementation partner in Brazil. Trust them to guide you down a path that they have navigated successfully many times before.

At TRI, a Peloton Consulting Group company we pride ourselves in becoming an extension of our client’s team. The success of our clients is our primary focus and we have an incredible track record assisting them in accomplishing their strategic objectives. Ask around, you will find that our group has delivered more successful Oracle ERP projects for multi-nationals in Brazil than any other consulting company in the world.