If you’re looking for your first ERP Solution or looking to upgrade from an existing system, the evaluation, selection, and implementation process is a long-term strategic decision for your organization.
To help you through this process, here are eight simple steps for a successful ERP system selection:
- Step 1: Evaluation – Get members of your leadership together and get the initial conversations going about ERP. Make sure everyone has transparency into how you are evaluating providers.
- Step 2: Make An Assessment – Look critically at your business and operations to determine what’s working well, what challenges you’re experiencing, and what you think you need in order to scale or make improvements.
- Step 3: Establish Criteria – Develop a standard criteria to use when evaluating vendors. Criteria can include features, price, platform, and anything else your team thinks is important when making evaluations.
- Step 4: Schedule Consultations – Schedule phone calls, in-person meetings, or online demos with sales representatives and product experts at the vendors you’re considering. Get a first impression about each company and try to make note of the differences between the vendors you talk to.
- Step 5: Create a Shortlist – Narrow your list down to 2-3 candidates that you’d like to follow-up with.
- Step 6: Make Contact – Contact vendors on your shortlist and schedule follow-up calls to learn more about how their products could help your business.
- Step 7: Prepare Questions That Address Your Concerns – Prepare specific questions that you’d like each vendor to address during the follow-up call.
- Step 8: Check Vendor References – Talk to other companies that have implemented ERP systems from the vendors you’re considering. Find out what they like, what they don’t like, what they weren’t expecting, if they’d actually recommend the vendor you’re asking about, etc. Get as much information from them as you can in order to make a final decision. Once you’ve selected the ERP vendor for your business and needs, spend the time to scope the entire project, from start to finish. Work with your ERP vendor to map your critical milestones and chart your course to success.
