Tonight, we’re dimming the lights, firing up the dashboards, and summoning the ghosts of ERP projects past.
These aren’t myths or campfire tales—these are real stories of transformation gone terrifyingly wrong.
From candy empires losing millions to courtroom dramas and billion-dollar payroll nightmares, we’re pulling back the curtain on what happens when strategy slips, testing is skipped, or timelines turn monstrous.
But don’t worry—this isn’t just to spook you.
Every ERP horror story hides a valuable lesson in project discipline, governance, and timing.
So grab your flashlight (or your favorite BI dashboard glow) and join us for the first of these real-life scary ERP stories:
The Queensland Health Payroll Disaster.
In 2007, the Queensland government decided to replace its aging payroll system for the Queensland Health Department.
The old system worked—but it wasn’t modern.
Enter IBM, SAP, and a $6 million modernization contract.
By the time the dust settled, the project would cost $1.2 billion, destroy reputations, and become a textbook example of ERP failure worldwide.
The Catastrophe
When the new SAP-based payroll system went live in 2010, 78,000 employees were underpaid, overpaid, or not paid at all.
The initial go-live was rushed despite 47 critical defects still open in the testing system.
Within weeks, the government scrambled to manually correct payments—creating over 5,000 payroll support tickets per week.
The Fallout
- Project cost ballooned from AUD $6.2M to $1.2B.
- IBM was banned from future contracts.
- Multiple government officials resigned.
A commission of inquiry later described it as:
“A catastrophic failure of project governance.”
(Wikipedia Source)
Why It Failed
Ignored warnings. Developers flagged critical defects pre-launch—but management pushed ahead.
Poor vendor oversight. IBM’s project management failed to deliver transparency.
No risk mitigation. No rollback plan, no contingency, no safety net.
The Lingering Ghosts
The system took almost a decade to stabilize. Even today, the “Queensland Health payroll failure” is taught in business schools as a masterclass in mismanagement.
Lessons Learned
- If testing reveals issues—listen.
- ERP is about people, not just platforms.
- Rushing digital transformation can haunt you for decades.
Conclusion
The Queensland Health payroll disaster is the ERP world’s haunted mirror—showing what happens when ambition outruns discipline…
Thank you very much for reading today! Come back tomorrow, we’ll have a smelly one in our hands – bwahahahaha…
Sources
- Wikipedia – 2010 Queensland Health Payroll System Implementation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Queensland_Health_payroll_system_implementation - GOV’TECH Review – Old Health payroll report slams worst-ever IT project