Tips for ERP Selection Success

A few weeks ago, we shared an article that outlined several tips for selecting the right CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system for your organization in Choosing the Right CRM System Made Simple.  As many of you know CRM and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems can go hand in hand, so today we are going to share some useful tips in selecting an ERP system.

Compare Business Products recently produced a document called 5 Steps to Successful ERP Selection in which they offered some great things to consider when choosing an ERP solution.  We have adapted these tips as follows:

Tip 1 – Perform Internal Due Diligence

A company shouldn’t confuse an identified pain with a requirement that’s defined with sufficient particularity for ERP evaluation purposes. For example, a manufacturer might know that it has a problem with cost control. If it were to approach ERP vendors with a general “costing pain”, each vendor would probably say that its software supports costing. Although the answer might appear to be satisfactory, relying on it could lead to an ill-advised ERP investment decision.

Tip 2 – Define Project Feasibility and ERP Requirements

This tip is pretty much self-explanatory -Feasibility assessment is intended to justify investment decision-making. In effect, it is used to support a go/no-go project decision. Of course, assessing your ERP requirements essentially means you need to define the collection of business requirements for your ERP solution.

Tip 3 – Evaluate ERP Alternatives

The third step in successful ERP solution selection involves doing your due diligence as far as evaluating different ERP systems is concerned. This may seem like a no brainer, but it is a good reminder to follow through and complete your research thoroughly.

Tip 4 – Contract Negotiation

When reviewing ERP contracts, companies should consider whether the structure of the deal reflects their interests. In so doing, they should remember that they’re the ones accepting the financial obligations and assuming the ERP-related risks. To the extent that they’re not comfortable with the terms, they should seek negotiated concessions.

Tip 5 – Change Management

Securing project buy-in and managing resistance to change are critical to the success of every ERP project. Companies should initiate organizational change management initiatives at the earliest opportunity.

Here at The Vested Group, we believe NetSuite offers the best ERP solution, particularly for small to medium sized business.  NetSuite ERP is the world's most deployed cloud ERP solution. It provides proven financial management and ERP that easily integrates with your broader sales and service processes. NetSuite ERP takes your business beyond traditional accounting software, streamlining back-office processes and equips you with the visibility you need to make better faster decisions. Key benefits of NetSuite’s ERP solution include:

• Accelerates the order-to cash process by 50%+
• Slashes the financial close with real-time reporting
• Strengthens procurement with approvals and vendor management
• Improves employee management through self-service
• Drives decision making with personalized dashboards
• Improves accountability and compliance with strong traceability
• Reduces IT costs and delivers automated ERP upgrades
• Elevates productivity with anytime, anywhere access

If you are interested in learning more about NetSuite’s ERP solution, contact The Vested Group today.  We can answer all of your questions and even set up a demo of NetSuite’s products. The Vested Group has offices in Dallas, TX and Tampa, FL ready serve all of your ERP and cloud computing needs!