It is not a way to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive and complex business environment without IT support that can easily streamline, automate, and scale business processes. For most enterprises, an ERP-class system is fundamental, as it is the information core that affects all aspects of a business. Its choice is a strategic decision that can support the growth of the company, or… on the contrary. What can you do to make sure that you do not regret the decision?

This seems obvious, but it is surprisingly often forgotten choosing business system should start with the business. The basic selection criteria should set a long-term corporate strategy. The supplier, technology, and deployment partner must, in some sense, be part of the company’s vision, because only this guarantees that the chosen solution will be used by the organization for many years and will provide maximum return on investment.

From general talks to a shortlist

Preparing for selection of the ERP system is certainly starting with initial discussions among top managers. Then, you need a solid, critical analysis of your business and operations to identify your strengths and weaknesses, challenges and opportunities. The results of the analysis will be specific criteria that will then identify potential suppliers. These include, among all, functionality, technology, and costs.

Functional requirements are crucial. It is important whether the company sells products or services, if it is a manufacturer or a distributor, whether it is a single market or a distributed structure, etc. All these aspects must be supported by the ERP system. A budget must also be defined in advance, considering all the components of the investment, including the costs of implementation and  support.

The selection criteria should be specific and clear. Therefore, even the company’s regular employees, customers and suppliers, should be involved in setting them up. The information you gain from your discussions with them should be transferred into requirements. A complete list of criteria should be organized according to strategic priorities. It is worth to think carefully which functions and features of the system are necessary. It will certainly be found that a part, though useful, is not something without which the company cannot operate. Then the only logical consequence is to arrange meetings with the suppliers’ representatives, which will allow a shortlist of the systems under consideration to be established.

Partner Support

Deploying a system, especially if it replaces other software, is a costly and difficult task. If it is done in aright way, it will open countless new opportunities. However, the challenges should not be underestimated. Therefore, a supplier that can cope with them effectively plays an extremely important role. It is primarily about the experience, and especially from projects carried out in the same industry. However, it is important to remember that there are no two identical organizations, so a system that has worked perfectly in one company may not fit into a different one, even with a similar profile. Given this, it is essential that the solution can be adapted to the specific needs of the company.  Of course, the best system that will have the least amount of change made. It is also important to be able to integrate the ERP system with other systems used in the organization. It is also worth considering whether the company can make the changes to the solution on its own, if it will use the delivery partner