The First 90 Days After Go-Live: Stabilizing Operations in QAD

Posted on: February 17, 2026 | By: Blake Moore | QAD Business Process, QAD Distribution, QAD Financials|QAD Business Process, QAD Manufacturing

When in the home stretch of an implementation, the go-live can seem like the finish line, when it is really the starting gun.  More often than not, the first 90 days after go-live determine whether the organization locks in value or slips into prolonged disruption. As leaders, our mandates are clear. We need to stabilize operations fast, protect customer service, and establish disciplined habits that turn our QAD system into a business advantage. Below is the roadmap we have successfully used to ensure this happens. 

Days 1–30: Hypercare With Purpose

The first month is about operational continuity. Transactional accuracy matters more than optimization. We need to be able to ship product, pay suppliers and close the books. During this phase, successful teams stand up a focused hypercare model with three characteristics:

1. Clear ownership: Functional leads (Planning, Manufacturing, Finance, Supply Chain) own outcomes—not IT. 
2. Rapid triage: Issues are logged, categorized (process, data, configuration, training), and resolved with urgency.
3. Executive air cover: Leadership reinforces priorities and removes obstacles quickly.

 A common mistake we’ve observed is not having enough support, whether from the consulting partner or the business and thus hypercare devolves into chaos. The first 30 days to be run like a war room with daily stand-ups, a visible backlog, and tight communication. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s stability.

Days 31–60: From Firefighting to Control

Once transactions are flowing, attention must shift to control and predictability. This is where many organizations stall, mistaking “the system works” for “the business is in control.”

Key focus areas include:

• Master data governance: Are item, BOM, routing, and customer records being maintained according to the newly approved process.
• Planning integrity: Are MRP messages trusted, or overridden? Are planners back in spreadsheets?
• Financial confidence: Can controllers explain inventory, variances, and WIP without caveats?

This is also when user behavior becomes visible and one of the biggest behaviors we observe during this time is the regression back to their legacy spreadsheets and systems. If teams are in fact regressing and creating workarounds, it’s a signal, not of resistance, but of gaps in process clarity or training. Under stress, we all fall back to our old habits. This is where leaders need to firmly but empathetically re-enforce the new processes. 

Days 61–90: Institutionalizing the New Normal

The final phase is about making the new way stick. Increased real-time visibility is almost always a big driver for these kinds of projects. Leading organizations can now use this window to define “what good looks like” and measure it relentlessly.

Successful post-go-live teams:

• Establish a core KPI set (OTIF, schedule adherence, inventory turns, close cycle time).
• Shift support from daily hypercare to structured cadence (weekly operational reviews, monthly governance).
• Identify quick wins that improve usability or performance without destabilizing the core system.

Importantly, this is when ownership transitions fully to the business. IT supports; operations lead.

The Real Objective

The first 90 days are not about loving your new QAD ERP, they’re about trusting it. When planners trust MRP, when finance trusts inventory, and when leadership trusts the data, momentum builds.

In a QAD go-live, stabilization is not passive. It’s an active, disciplined effort to align people, process, and technology. Get the first 90 days right, and you don’t just stabilize, you set the foundation for continuous improvement and measurable ROI.

Stability first. Confidence next. Value follows. 

Next Steps

For more QAD implementation Tips and Tricks contact our experts here.

 

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