How to:Choose a best fit ERP Solution for your Organization

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Deploying an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is an expensive proposition, not just in terms of licensing fees and maintenance, but in terms of dedicated resources and time. And yet all too often, organizations, dazzled by vendor promises and hype, fail to come up with a viable long-term (or even short-term) roadmap.

How to Select an ERP Solution which will best fit your Business

So to help organizations increase the odds of a successful ERP deployment we came up with an ERP selection and implementation criteria to consider when implementing. As a business manager, choosing the right enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution can be one of the most important decisions you will make for your organization or Business . Here are some key points to consider.

  1. Be sure to get a five and 10-year TCO document to gain clarity on what they will be charging once the initial term is complete.
  2. Be sure it’s a Fixed Fee Implementation. Vendors will quote low to get the business, then charge more when the project is out of “Hours” but still incomplete.
  3. For healthcare clients, be sure to get a BAA signed ahead of the contract. If you wait until after signing a contract, companies will strong-arm you into signing their paperwork for the BAA, with no flexibly around the language.
  4. Be sure to get a Non-Production “Mirror” Database that does not expire. It’s necessary for training and upgrades and should be considered a core feature. Also, be sure that you can keep it updated without paying or reaching out to a support team.
  5. When researching support packages, be sure to ask about customer satisfaction ratings. Some support packages sound good on paper, but in reality, people aren’t getting their problems solved. Also, be sure to understand who is offering the support, and where the line is between covered support and chargeable consultation.
  6. Try to connect with company leadership ahead of signature to get their commitment to your project’s success. If they can’t connect you with key personnel when trying to win your business, that is a clear sign that you won’t have the support of those key personnel if you need them once you’re a client.
  7. Not everything you see in a demo translates into actual functionality for your post-go-live. For key features like consolidated reporting, bringing in statistical data from outside sources, bank reconciliations, and inter-company transactions, be sure to speak to references about the actual on-the-ground experience of those features.