Whether you are looking for your first Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system or upgrading from an existing system, the ERP selection and implementation process is a long-term strategic decision that your business will live with for years to come. Naturally, you want to get it right!

To support you on your ERP journey, this short white paper outlines the 8 essential steps you’ll need to complete in order to choose a solution that fits your current and future business needs.

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Eight simple steps for a successful ERP system selection.

Step 1: Evaluation

Form an evaluation committee that includes representation from the key stakeholders impacted by the implementation. This committee should include top management, functional experts, and end-users from the different departments within your company. Consider hiring neutral, external consultants to assist in your evaluation. Throughout the selection process, end each step with a consensus of all members to gain enterprise-wide acceptance of the final ERP system.

Step 2: Assess Your Options

Assess your existing business processes and the scale of your operation, so you can determine what’s being done well. Identify the gaps or key challenges that can be solved with the help of an ERP system. Take a futuristic approach, determining what solution fits your current best practice and future requirements.

Step 3: Establish Criteria

Develop your selection criteria to evaluate the available solutions. Criteria can include features, price, platform, and anything else your committee deems important. Group the criteria according to importance to your business—i.e. very important, important, and less important. Assign a score to each to make the evaluation easier.

Here are some example criteria:

• Industry expertise—How well does the ERP vendor understand your industry? Does the vendor offer industry best practices or pre-defined processes that are generalized or horizontally focused? ERP solutions should at the very least address the critical business requirements specific to your industry.
• Total cost of ownership—Determine the long-term TCO for hardware, software, and support—both before and after implementation.
• Multisite operations support—If you need to collaborate with multiple operations, then ensure your ERP vendor can support multi-site operations. Can your ERP vendor support all your locations?
• Customer support—Does the ERP vendor have its own in-house Support Team, or does it outsource? You’ll gain the most out of your investment if you have access to a customer care center that can answer your key application and technical questions, solve your complex technical or software related issues, and advise on best industry practices.

Step 4: Schedule Consultations & Demonstrations

Arrange consultations with both a sales representative and product expert from as many different ERP vendors as possible. Discovery calls and demonstrations will provide you with better insight on the vendor and its solution than if you were to rely solely on brochures and sales literature.

Step 5: Create a Shortlist

Shortlist three to five ERP solutions that best meet your business needs. Your discovery calls will have helped you eliminate the solutions that are poor fits.

Step 6: Make Contact & Build Trust

Contact the vendors of your shortlisted ERP systems to arrange additional presentations and product demonstrations with key stakeholders. Identify whether the vendor is one with which you want to develop a long-term relationship.

Step 7: Prepare Questions that Address Your Concerns

How each vendor responds will help you determine the best fit for your company.

Step 8: Check Vendor References

Visit and consult companies where the ERP system has been implemented. Find out if the system is working as expected and what the company likes or dislikes. If there were issues, then determine how the vendor resolved them.

Conclusion

Your evaluation committee should now be able to select an ERP solution based on how well it met your selection criteria, how it performed during the demonstration, and how the references checked out.

Finally, with your selected ERP vendor, 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.