Discover what to consider when choosing an enterprise resource planning system for your organization.
9 Questions to Ask ERP Vendors
System costs: How does the vendor charge for the product we want now and for the capabilities we’ll need in the future? How are upgrades, new releases and bug fixes handled?
Implementation: What’s the expected cost for implementation? How could that cost increase once the project is underway, and how can we prevent scope creep?
Configurability: Does the vendor understand our specific needs and processes, and is the system flexible enough to support them? How are customizations handled by the vendor’s implementation team?
User-friendliness: How easy is the system to learn and use? Does it have an intuitive UI that will encourage wide adoption?
Timeline: How long will the implementation take, and will it disrupt our operations? How has implementation gone for similar customers? What resources will our company be expected to provide?
Project management: Will the vendor help create milestones for success relevant to our business so that everyone sees progress?
Updates: How does the vendor deliver updates, and do new features come at an extra cost? Do updates require expert assistance to install?
Data migration: How will the vendor move data from old business systems to the new ERP? Does the provider have experience with our existing systems?
Add-ons: Does the vendor offer a variety of modules we can add as we need them? Is there an extensive network of partners offering prebuilt integrations and niche functionality? How simple is it to add users or new functionality?
Key ERP Capabilities
What functionality do you need? Consider these popular options.
Accounting: Automate AP and AR, automatically update generalledger and subledgers with transactions as they happen.
Financial planning and analysis: Forecast future sales, expensesand headcount needs, project base, best- and worst-case outcomes.Inventory management. Track the movement of products acrossthe supply chain, monitor current inventory levels.
Order management: Route orders to the best fulfillment location,track orders from receipt through delivery.
Professional Services Automation: Monitor project progress,manage project billing and expenses.
Manufacturing: Create production schedules, coordinate allnecessary resources to meet the production plan.
CRM: Record all communication with customers and prospects,manage sales leads and basic marketing campaigns.
ERP systems are modular, so you can start with core finance functionality and add modules for other aspects of the business asyou need them.
Main Characteristics of a Modern ERP
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Originally posted in the IRPA AI Network — Enterprise AI