Nibco Case Study Summary

NIBCO is a midsize company that manufactures and distributes valves and similar pipe components through ten plants and four distribution centers in North America (Brown, DeHaynes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012). Based in Elkhart, Indiana, NIBCO’s management and executives determined, with the help of Boston Consulting Group, that their piecemeal approach to adopting individual packages for Information System was insufficient to enable smooth operations and a projected six percent growth rate.

Despite warnings from the vast majority of available implementation partners and other customers of the particular ERP package chosen, NIBO decided on implementing SAP in a “big bang” approach at all North American facilities (Brown, DeHaynes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012). While this technique contributed significant reductions in the timeline and cost of the project, it also introduced a tremendous amount of complexity, timing constraints, and need for change management. The “out-of-the box” approach minimized ABAP coding, reduced scope creep, and helped keep the project within the aggressive timelines; however, it

Stock options for core members and incentive pay for all salaried associates provided encouragement to go the extra mile to meet timelines and ensure widespread adoption of the new system (Brown, DeHaynes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012). Strong executive leadership, dedication to follow the standard SAP processes and methodologies without customization, and outstanding change management communications were critical in bringing all businesses in line and ensuring that every party understood that the only option was to adopt the new