Purpose

The ERP programme implementation timeline has been revised from November 2026 (HRP solution implementation) and April 2027 (Finance solution implementation) to July 2027 for both solutions. This was following a comprehensive review of the programme and associated deliverables in May 2026. The extended timeline incurs further charges from the third-party supplier (Ernst and Young - EY) due to additional resources being required to cover the extension. Although ERP Programme Board endorsed the timeline extension and associated costs in June 2026, as the cost of this exceeds £100K, a DAR is required for approval.

Decision

For the reasons set out in this report, the Corporate Director has decided to:

1)    Enter into a contract variation pertaining to ‘contract DN765429: Liverpool City Council ERP Solution_25’ with Ernst & Young LLP, to enable additional consultancy costs of £441,110.80 (exc. VAT) associated with the ERP programme implementation revised timeline.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing – remain with the April 2027 go-live for the ERP solution: Whilst no additional short-term budget increase beyond April 2027 would be required, significant cost above that required in the preferred option as well as additional risk exposure would be expected post go-live to remediate expected significant issues from prioritising schedule over quality.

Go live with the new ERP solution in June 2027: This option is not recommended as this is normally the period for Finance closing of year-end activity (for 2026, this is confirmed as needing completion by 30 June 2026). As the SAP system needs to be completely shut down for approximately one week during cutover, this option is likely to be unpalatable to the Finance service. This option will also not allow sufficient time for a third payroll run, which provides additional assurance that the solution is ready for go-live.