PPS moves toward Workday ERP award; contract talks with implementers Accenture and Meridian
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Summary
District staff told the board they issued an intent to award Workday and are negotiating contracts with implementers Meridian and Accenture; the ERP program is bond-funded and aims to replace century-old financial systems over an 18—24 month implementation with emphasis on change management.
Portland SD 1J staff presented an update on enterprise resource planning (ERP) and digital transformation at the Feb. 24 work session, reporting an intent to award Workday as the district's new core platform and naming Meridian (prime) and Accenture as implementation partners under negotiation.
Chief of Integrated Operations Tom Hodges and senior director Russell Adamson outlined the scope: moving people- and finance-related functions onto a new platform funded by the 2020 and 2025 bonds, with an 18—24 month implementation roadmap and 12 months of elevated post-go-live support. Staff emphasized change management and standardization, asking for out-of-the-box configurations where possible to limit expensive customization.
Adamson said the program team had required specific change-management certifications (e.g., Prosci) and that one vendor self-selected out for lacking required credentials; interviews for program-management finalists were underway and staff planned to return to the board at the March work session and list award items on the April 14 consent agenda. Hodges said the ERP will not replace student information systems and that the program is ambitious because it touches payroll, procurement and other financial operations.
Board members asked about local and minority-business participation; staff said global ERP vendors constrain scope for small local firms on core licensing but that portions of program management and change management can and did involve local and women-owned finalists. Directors also urged staff to incorporate lessons learned from other large public-sector ERP transitions, especially for payroll testing and phased testing plans.
Staff said the new system is intended to provide faster reconciliation and real-time budget visibility in future cycles — a capability leaders said would have helped surface the current-year fiscal variance earlier.