American LaFrance

Following entry is a record in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” – a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.


American LaFrance – USA
Project :
ERP (counting, purchasing, inventory, production, payroll and finance services)
Date : Jun 2007
Cost :$Undisclosed, but ALF blames Chapter-11 bankruptcy on the failure of the project

Synopsis :
ALF (the world’s largest builder of customized fire fighting trucks and equipment) files for chapter-11 bankruptcy following a botched ERP project.  When the new system was switched on reports indicate that production was thrown into chaos resulting in disruption to cash flow and ultimately a liquidity crisis.

Contributing factors as reported in the press :
Few details released, reports indicate serious deficiencies that affected the cut-over resulting in loss of information and severe operational disruption.

Reference links :

  1. Firetruck maker files for bankruptcy

Leave a Reply