Context: Sometimes used for extensively implemented MES/eBR platforms that can hardly evolve in an agile way after the initial rollout.
Why it matters: Masks the cost of stagnation – sunk implementation cost is easily misread as strategic advantage.
Possible effects:
- High switching barriers.
- Innovation slowdown.
- Loss of domain authority by operations.
Not the same as: Technical debt; rather organizational path dependency.
Breaking out:
- Controlled decoupling of critical recipe logic.
- Introduce focused, lightweight systems (best-of-need).
- Restore a controlled ability to change.
Further reading: