Case Notes/Answers
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR CO. ENTERPRISE
SOFTWARE SELECTION by Robert Austin Deb
Discussion Questions:
1. Consider Exhibit 10 on page 22 of the case; does it include the factors you consider most
important in the selection process? Which factors would you be inclined to weight most
heavily?
2. Based on the information in the case, which provider would you select (and why)? How
would you summarize for senior executives the reasons for your choice (in 2 minutes or less)?
3. What is your overall assessment of Harley’s approach to enterprise software selection? What
(if anything) would you have done differently?
, 5-603-047
JULY 17, 2002
TEACHING NOTE
Harley-Davidson Motor Company: Enterprise
Software Selection
Synopsis
In 1998, Harley-Davidson was a successful company keenly aware of both its uniqueness and its
emerging business challenges. It had been to the brink of bankruptcy in the mid-1980s, due to severe
pressure from offshore competitors and serious quality problems, but it had come roaring back. After
a management buy-out, an intense period of reform, and a subsequent IPO in 1986, the Harley-
Davidson Motor Company had begun a renaissance that some interpreted as proof that U.S.
manufacturing companies could indeed compete in world markets. In prevailing against the odds,
the image of the company and its customers was reinforced. Harley workers and aficionados were
again “born to be wild,” and the company, despite a gentrifying customer base, was again (in the
words of CEO Jeff Bleustein) “a little bit special, a little bit mysterious, a little bit bad.”1
Garry Berryman joined the company as VP of Materials Management in 1995, more than 100 years
after it was founded. Almost immediately he sought change. Specifically, he wanted to overhaul the
company’s purchasing, rife with process inconsistency, diversity, and inefficiency. By 1996, he had
developed a Supply Management Strategy (SMS) intended to streamline processes, help purchasing
staff focus on value-adding activities, and cast purchasing in a more strategic role. In 1997, replacing
the IT infrastructure that supported the purchasing function emerged as a key initiative, dubbed
“Supplier Information Link” (SiL’K). The changes that would result from SiL’K were substantial, a
fact that could not be taken lightly in a company with such a strong culture as Harley’s.
This case focuses on the change program initiated by Berryman, and on the resulting enterprise
software selection process. The decision of which partner to choose to help the company change the
way it purchased raised fundamental tensions within the company. The issues uncovered in the
process evidenced a microcosm of the stresses that resulted whenever a strong need for change
collided with the company’s strong sense of history. By discussing this case, students gain an
appreciation for the difficulties of change in an established company, and for the ways in which IT
infrastructure replacement projects interact with established company processes and cultures.
1 Gina Imperato, “Harley Shifts Gears,” FastCompany, no. 9 (June 1997): 104.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR CO. ENTERPRISE
SOFTWARE SELECTION by Robert Austin Deb
Discussion Questions:
1. Consider Exhibit 10 on page 22 of the case; does it include the factors you consider most
important in the selection process? Which factors would you be inclined to weight most
heavily?
2. Based on the information in the case, which provider would you select (and why)? How
would you summarize for senior executives the reasons for your choice (in 2 minutes or less)?
3. What is your overall assessment of Harley’s approach to enterprise software selection? What
(if anything) would you have done differently?
, 5-603-047
JULY 17, 2002
TEACHING NOTE
Harley-Davidson Motor Company: Enterprise
Software Selection
Synopsis
In 1998, Harley-Davidson was a successful company keenly aware of both its uniqueness and its
emerging business challenges. It had been to the brink of bankruptcy in the mid-1980s, due to severe
pressure from offshore competitors and serious quality problems, but it had come roaring back. After
a management buy-out, an intense period of reform, and a subsequent IPO in 1986, the Harley-
Davidson Motor Company had begun a renaissance that some interpreted as proof that U.S.
manufacturing companies could indeed compete in world markets. In prevailing against the odds,
the image of the company and its customers was reinforced. Harley workers and aficionados were
again “born to be wild,” and the company, despite a gentrifying customer base, was again (in the
words of CEO Jeff Bleustein) “a little bit special, a little bit mysterious, a little bit bad.”1
Garry Berryman joined the company as VP of Materials Management in 1995, more than 100 years
after it was founded. Almost immediately he sought change. Specifically, he wanted to overhaul the
company’s purchasing, rife with process inconsistency, diversity, and inefficiency. By 1996, he had
developed a Supply Management Strategy (SMS) intended to streamline processes, help purchasing
staff focus on value-adding activities, and cast purchasing in a more strategic role. In 1997, replacing
the IT infrastructure that supported the purchasing function emerged as a key initiative, dubbed
“Supplier Information Link” (SiL’K). The changes that would result from SiL’K were substantial, a
fact that could not be taken lightly in a company with such a strong culture as Harley’s.
This case focuses on the change program initiated by Berryman, and on the resulting enterprise
software selection process. The decision of which partner to choose to help the company change the
way it purchased raised fundamental tensions within the company. The issues uncovered in the
process evidenced a microcosm of the stresses that resulted whenever a strong need for change
collided with the company’s strong sense of history. By discussing this case, students gain an
appreciation for the difficulties of change in an established company, and for the ways in which IT
infrastructure replacement projects interact with established company processes and cultures.
1 Gina Imperato, “Harley Shifts Gears,” FastCompany, no. 9 (June 1997): 104.
