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LKQ’s third-quarter results put its Europe segment EBITDA margin at 4.6%, against 10.0% a year earlier. Its German ERP is among the drivers. Write the test for when your own go-live is over

LKQ, the vehicle repair parts supplier, published its final third-quarter results on 29 October 2026. Its Europe segment EBITDA margin was 4.6%, against 10.0% in the third quarter of 2025. EBITDA is profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. In dollars, that is $68 million against $162 million.

Its German ERP, the enterprise system that runs orders and finance, went live in early April. The quarter ended nearly 6 months later, and the chief financial officer still names the ERP among the drivers. When is your own go-live over, and who says so?

Below: what LKQ said, one test to write before your date, and one question for your programme lead.

Nearly 6 months on, the ERP is still among the named drivers

Rick Galloway, the chief financial officer, named 2 drivers of “weakness in our Europe segment”. They were “operational issues related to the ERP implementation in Germany” and “volume declines in the United Kingdom and Benelux”.

The release does not split the fall between the 2 drivers. On that day’s results call, Fortune’s transcript has Galloway estimate the disruption in Germany reduced EBITDA by “approximately $43 million in the quarter”. Europe’s fall was $94 million. He said delivery had improved, and “we haven’t seen the revenue return”.

LKQ withdrew its 2026 guidance on 23 October, and the release leaves it withdrawn. It gives no date for recovery.

Delivery improved but revenue did not return. From this one company, we think no single measure will tell you when a go-live is over.

Write the test before the date

Choose a few measures your business runs on, such as orders delivered on time, revenue by site and margin. Record each one’s level before go-live. Already live with no ‘before’ level? Use the earliest figure you have and say so on the sheet. Then set the level and the date at which the go-live counts as over, and name the person who will say so.

Done when: one sheet gives each measure a level from before go-live, a target date and a named owner. Your programme lead has it.

Take one question to your programme lead

Which numbers, on which date, will tell us this go-live is over?

For the people on your workstreams

The Capability Brief is written for the people who run each work package. This week it gives them a one-page rule sheet to write before an AI action goes live. It is on the record at capability.ai.

Our own Baseline report, which grades BusinessGPS itself red, amber or green, is here to read: the BusinessGPS Baseline report.

Sources

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