The process of selecting the best enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for your business goes deeper than criteria such as functionality, usability and an industry-specific offering, says Craig Stephens, VP, International Consulting, Epicor Software Corporation.
Once you have made sure that an ERP system ticks all the right boxes, your considerations should move from surface issues to a deeper more meaningful review. This will ensure that you are choosing the right partner to help you take your business forward.
Here are the top six considerations when choosing the best ERP system and provider:
Does your ERP provider understand you?
Having a deep and forever expanding understanding of customer industries and companies is a prerequisite to designing, developing and implementing a comprehensive technology solution.
As a customer, you should be inspired by new technology as it is a vehicle of discovery when skilfully implemented. It should also help you to realise and visualise opportunities that can support the growth and expansion of your business.
Many ERP providers do not have deep vertical expertise and cannot fully comprehend your business from end to end. Getting to the bottom of problem areas and helping you find solutions and identifying problems that you may not even have realized exist is a critical factor. It is the difference between mediocrity and excellence.
After all, the biggest drivers for implementing an ERP system are improving efficiencies and supporting an expansion strategy.
Visionary approach to business software
As the world evolves, technology advances and business needs change and so should your ERP system. Progression is critical to the survival of any partnership. Changes in the economy, consumer preferences and needs, advancements in technology, improved ways of doing things – the list is endless.
ERP providers must invest heavily in R&D to keep abreast of change. Some providers are reactive because they don’t have the expertise ability or customer experience to anticipate needs, but most of all, it’s very costly.
Evaluation resources like the Gartner Magic Quadrant can help to position players within the ERP market to assist with the selection process. The annual report is a culmination of research in a specific market, providing a wide-angle view of the relative positions of the market’s competitors.
By applying a graphical treatment and a uniform set of evaluation criteria, a Gartner Magic Quadrant quickly helps you digest how well technology providers are executing against their stated vision.
A proven track record with global reach
It’s important to look at the implementation track record of the provider and the level of expertise and experience of their team. Satisfied customers, time and time again, are the basis of a proven track record. They must deliver on time and on budget – if not, this could be disastrous to your business and bottom line.
ERP providers with a global reach have multiple offices and a network of partners to support customers with offices in multiple geographical locations. This is critical to ensure a consolidated approach to a global implementation.
Stability and financial viability of the vendor
Big names don’t necessarily guarantee big results and they may come with a large price tag. They often have a cookie-cutter approach with little flexibility and a lack of understanding when it comes to the intricacies of your business.
Stability is all about consistency and prudent decision making. The ERP provider that you select must have a proven track record and a strong financial position. This is critical to the longevity of your implementation. ERP providers must have ongoing R&D and maintain support structures. This will ensure that you can trust that your system will evolve as technology changes and your business grows.
Localised support in multiple languages
Before you commit to an ERP provider, make sure they offer comprehensive support to ease the transition and ensure the smooth running of the system. Without this you could face costly downtime.
They should offer ample support in local languages, with both telephonic and online support 24/7 in multiple languages. This ensures that users are able to understand and interact with all levels of support to minimize downtime and ease the transition to a new system for both new and existing staff.
Proven implementation methodology and consistent training
Proven ERP vendors have high standards in place for implementation, service and support. This will carry through to the direct and indirect vendor network. Resellers must be certified to sell and implement a solution backed up by an ongoing education programme. This, coupled with consistency and in-depth product knowledge, is a critical factor to the success of an ERP project.
With this in place, customer who can rest assured that every implementation is treated with the utmost care by industry professionals with a proven track record for excellence.
In order to maximize the software and enable a quicker time to value, the right ERP provider will offer comprehensive training to make sure that all users feel comfortable and embrace the new system.
Leading ERP providers ensure that their products are easy to use and intuitive which enables a smoother transition to the new system due to easier employee orientation and adoption. New personnel can be up-to-speed quickly and with little effort.
This in turn can influence the speed at which an ERP system can bring value to your operations and with ongoing investment in education the return on your investment is likely to be higher with more of the functionality being used.
All things considered, the investment in an ERP system is not only significant from a financial point of view; it is a long term commitment to a vendor.
The strength of this relationship – one that places the you, the customer, at it’s very centre of the partnership – will significantly impact the long term success of your system and your ability to maximize efficiency and build and grow your business more confidently, ensuring that your ERP selection goes beyond the feature function criteria will set you on the right path to a long and prosperous future.
