The Catch Up Podcast

What really happens behind the scenes of a multi-million-pound ERP programme, and why do so many still fail?

In this episode of the Catch Up Podcast, host Phillip Blackmore sits down with Elizabeth Foy, Head of Customer Transformation at 5Y Technology, to explore her journey from KPMG auditor to leader of large-scale D365 and SAP implementations. Elizabeth shares candid insights on the chaos that lurks beneath polished programme reports, the critical importance of change management, and why surrounding yourself with people who will challenge you is non-negotiable.

With research from Gartner indicating that more than 70% of ERP initiatives fail to fully meet their original business goals, Elizabeth's first-hand experience offers a practical counterweight to the optimistic demos and happy-path scenarios that so often mislead boards. From the dangers of watermelon reporting to knowing your pain points before you even invite an SI into the room, this conversation is essential listening for anyone embarking on, or already knee-deep in, a complex transformation programme.

  • (00:00) - Welcome to the Catch Up Podcast
  • (01:52) - From Milk Rounds to KPMG: A Career without a Plan
  • (10:56) - Standing between SAP and the Business
  • (17:44) - Advice for Those Starting a Career in Transformation
  • (18:59) - Building Teams from Diverse Backgrounds
  • (27:06) - Embracing Challenge and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
  • (29:27) - Why Change Management Makes or Breaks a Programme
  • (36:45) - Finding Your Champions and Spreading Good Vibes
  • (39:50) - What Makes a Great Programme Manager
  • (45:09) - Surrounding Yourself with the Right People
  • (47:49) - Essential Homework before Starting a D365 Journey


Elizabeth Foy: Elizabeth Foy is Head of Customer Transformation at 5Y Technology, where she leads the delivery of complex finance transformation and D365 implementation programmes. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA) and ICAEW Business and Finance Professional, she holds a First Class Honours degree in Business Studies. Elizabeth's career began at KPMG, where she built a foundation in process mapping and audit before moving into industry roles spanning retail, logistics, software and manufacturing. She has led end-to-end ERP implementations across SAP and Microsoft Dynamics 365, combining deep finance expertise with hands-on experience in FP&A, business intelligence, and organisational change. She is a regular contributor on LinkedIn, writing about the intersection of finance, data trust and AI adoption.
 

Episode Insights:
  • Change management is the single biggest determinant of programme success or failure, yet organisations routinely leave it until the final stages before UAT, by which time rumour and resistance have already taken hold.
  • Process mapping, often seen as mundane early-career work, is one of the most valuable skills a transformation professional can develop, because it builds the cross-functional understanding needed to bridge IT and business.
  • Watermelon reporting, where status dashboards show green at board level while the programme is red underneath, is a recurring pattern that stems from a culture where teams are afraid to deliver bad news.
  • Organisations that skip the upfront work of defining current pain points, target outcomes and clear guardrails almost inevitably see scope creep, budget overruns and misaligned expectations.
  • Building a diverse programme team of blending auditors, super users, early-career professionals and senior practitioners creates the breadth of perspective needed to catch blind spots and sustain momentum.

Action Points:
  1. Know where you are before you decide where you're going: Before engaging an SI or starting product demos, map your current pain points, data landscape and process bottlenecks at a high level. You do not need exhaustive process documentation, but you do need an honest picture of what is tripping the business up today so you can test every design decision against it.
  2. Define your guardrails and communicate them early: Establish a clear project charter that states what the programme is and is not. Surface those guardrails regularly so that when someone requests a costly customisation, you can assess it against agreed boundaries rather than making ad hoc decisions that inflate scope and budget.
  3. Bring change management in from day one: Do not wait until training is due to start communicating. Craft a clear message about why the programme exists and what it will enable, then identify credible champions at each site who can carry that message into teams. If you leave a communication void, rumour and fear will fill it for you.
  4. Seek out the challengers, not just the cheerleaders: Recruit team members and super users who will push back and ask difficult questions. Yes-people feel comfortable but hide risk. The person who says "yes, but what about this?" is often the one who saves the programme from a costly surprise at go live.
  5. Build traceability from strategy to go live: Create a golden thread that links your stated objectives to requirements, configuration, testing and training. This traceability gives you the evidence to demonstrate progress, defend decisions and catch drift before it compounds into a programme-level problem.

The Catch Up Podcast brings you candid conversations with industry leaders, consultants, and change-makers from the Microsoft Dynamics and tech ecosystem. Hosted by Phillip Blackmore, Sales Director at Catch Resource Management, each episode dives into the real stories behind business transformation, career pivots, and scaling success. Expect thoughtful interviews, practical insights, and honest reflections.

Brought to you by Catch Resource Management, a leading UK recruitment specialist for Microsoft Dynamics and ERP talent, this podcast is your inside track to the people shaping the future of enterprise technology. Tune in for new episodes and stay ahead of the curve.

The Catch Up Podcast is produced by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford, UK. 

What is The Catch Up Podcast?

The Catch Up Podcast brings you candid conversations with industry leaders, consultants, and change-makers from the Microsoft Dynamics and tech ecosystem. Hosted by Phillip Blackmore, Sales Director at Catch Resource Management, each episode dives into the real stories behind business transformation, career pivots, and scaling success. Expect thoughtful interviews, practical insights, and honest reflections. Brought to you by Catch Resource Management, a leading UK recruitment specialist for Microsoft Dynamics and ERP talent, this podcast is your inside track to the people shaping the future of enterprise technology.