The ERP marketplace is crowded, and it can be confusing to try and determine which ERP vendor best meets your needs. Create a list of criteria that addresses your main concerns, then evaluate ERP vendors against those concerns.
The following are some suggested evaluation steps:
1. Determine your top five goals or challenges—the business reasons you’re looking to implement an ERP system—then send a quick email to the vendor candidates. Their answers –within one or two business day – should let you know whether it’s worth researching those providers further. In your email consider defining the following information:
a. Your business model, i.e. whether you’re a manufacturer or a distributor
b. Estimated number of application users / Locations
c. The size of your business (revenue or number of employees)
Don’t be concerned about disclosing too much information—more information will speed the evaluation process up significantly. It is completely fair to ask the vendor to sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement.
2. Before inviting a vendor to meet, make sure they truly understand your business needs, versus just your software functionality requirements.
3. Ask each vendor for a live demonstration of their ERP system in a real-time business environment using your real business data.
4. Evaluate the vendor’s experience in the industry; ask them for references of successful ERP implementations.
5. Consider the vendor’s policies for support, updates, version upgrades, etc. after the initial implementation.
6. Make sure you have a good fit with your potential vendor. This is a long-term relationship, and like the family members you work alongside, you must be able to get through pressure points with grace, those times you will surely encounter during a software change.
7. Consider such factors as the vendor’s credibility, stability, financial viability, track record and range of products.
8. IMP : Try to find a partner instead of service provider. Companies that truly succeed in ERP are companies that want to see their customers succeed. Adding true business value is what happens with a good ERP system.
9. Check resources such as the vendor’s customer success stories/case studies is a good idea, because no matter how much marketing fluff is built in, these stories are about real companies in your industry.
10. Ask the vendor for customer references so you can call and chat with that company
About their ERP implementation experience.
You might also want to talk with IT Consulting or ERP-specific consulting companies that can give you more insight and guidance into the selection process,
Once you successfully complete the process of finding the right ERP technology and implementation partner, you will discover, that ERP systems provide the business tools needed to compete with the larger companies – without breaking the bank!
Main Points :
The ERP marketplace is crowded, and it can be confusing to try and determine which ERP vendor best meets your needs.
Make sure you have a good fit with your potential vendor. This is a long-term relationship, so look for vendor who can give service / support for a minimum of five to ten years. Consider such factors as the vendor’s credibility, stability, financial viability, track record and range of products etc.
By Umesh Kutte, from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141021101800-48728574-10-points-selecting-the-right-erp-vendor?trk=prof-post