Senior architecture involvement, matched to the risk of the decision.
ERP Unlocked retainers are structured around what leadership needs most: a plan to approve, governance to control execution, hands-on stabilization when an initiative is at risk, or ongoing fractional architecture leadership.
One framework. Four levels of involvement.
Discovery & Planning creates the plan. Project Oversight governs the plan. Project Stabilization actively helps recover the plan. Enterprise Solution Architect maintains the architecture direction over time.
Creates the plan
For executives who need clarity before funding, staffing, vendor selection, or project launch.
- Executive workshops and stakeholder discovery
- Current-state assessment and decision framing
- Project charter, sequencing, and governance model
- Project plan, resource plan, and testing strategy
- 12-month roadmap, with 36/60-month direction where appropriate
- Leadership-ready recommendation deck
Governs the plan
For initiatives already assigned to an internal team, SI, MSP, cloud partner, or offshore group where leadership wants independent senior review.
- Architecture review and decision governance
- Vendor/SOW review and delivery assumption challenge
- Project plan, resource plan, testing, and cutover review
- Risk, issue, dependency, and decision management
- Steering committee preparation and executive translation
- Milestone readiness and go/no-go input
Actively helps recover the plan
For initiatives that are stalled, overextended, vendor-challenged, operationally disruptive, or losing executive confidence.
- Hands-on day-to-day project involvement where needed
- Rapid triage of scope, ownership, vendor, testing, data, and architecture risks
- 30/60/90-day recovery plan and stabilization backlog
- Working sessions, standups, blocker reviews, and escalation support
- Revised project plan, resource plan, testing remediation, and cutover readiness
- Governance reset and executive recovery dashboard
Maintains direction over time
For organizations that need retained senior ERP architecture leadership without adding a full-time enterprise architect.
- Fractional ERP architecture leadership
- 12/36/60-month roadmap ownership support
- Project intake governance and architecture review board support
- Vendor/SOW review and portfolio-level risk management
- Executive advisory for CIO, CFO, VP Apps, Controller, and program sponsors
- Quarterly strategy readout and leadership decision support
What a retainer can produce
The work is designed to leave leadership with usable decision assets, not abstract advice.
Decision assets
Executive briefings, option analysis, business case support, decision logs, funding packages, and go/no-go recommendations.
Project assets
Project plans, resource plans, testing strategies, cutover strategies, risk registers, dependency maps, and milestone readiness reviews.
Roadmap assets
12-month operating plans, 36-month modernization roadmaps, 60-month enterprise application strategy, and Fusion readiness paths.
Governance assets
Architecture principles, review cadences, steering committee materials, vendor accountability models, escalation paths, and ownership matrices.
Stabilization assets
Recovery plans, prioritized backlogs, issue triage, revised operating rhythms, testing remediation plans, and executive recovery dashboards.
Architecture assets
Extension strategy, integration strategy, data segmentation approach, cloud/database migration framing, and AI readiness roadmap.
Retainer comparison
The difference is not just deliverables. It is the level of operating involvement.
| Capability | Discovery & Planning | Project Oversight | Project Stabilization | Enterprise Solution Architect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary executive value | Make the right decision before launch | Keep the work governed | Regain control of a troubled initiative | Maintain architecture direction over time |
| Project plan / resource plan | Created | Reviewed and challenged | Rebuilt as needed | Maintained or refreshed |
| Testing / cutover strategy | Defined as needed | Reviewed and governed | Remediated and driven into recovery plan | Governed across initiatives |
| 12/36/60-month strategy | Often included | Optional | Optional after recovery | Core deliverable |
| Vendor/SOW review | Included when relevant | Included | Included | Included |
| Executive readouts | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Day-to-day project involvement | Not typical | Limited and defined | Included where needed | By agreement for high-risk work |
| Best fit | Before budget or vendor commitment | During active execution | When the initiative is at risk | Ongoing ERP leadership gap |
Retainers are sized by risk, cadence, deliverables, and involvement.
The first discussion should identify the executive decision, current pressure, timeline, vendors involved, and whether the need is planning, governance, stabilization, or ongoing leadership.