Guide to Finding the Right Enterprise Resource Planning System

Enterprise Resource Planning systems typically include modules that cover financial administration, inventory and supply chain management. Depending on the level of system your are looking at, it may also include one or more of the following modules:

- customer relationship management

- manufacturing

- advanced warehouse management

- cost accounting

- project costing and administration

- human resource management

- service management

There are a bewildering number of products on the market, with differing levels of functionality and complexity. in the context of your business, more is not always better. Generally, you will get what you pay for, so the trick is to choose the product and implementation partner most appropriate to your business. Here are a few tips to help you make sense of the choices.

Appoint a Selection Project Manager

Having a project manager handle the process will make it a more cohesive process for all involved. A project manager can coordinate all of the internal assessments, as well as the vendor evaluations. The selection PM will also be the liaison between the company and the vendors.

The project manager will be responsible for creating a selection team that will represent each section of the company, ie HR, manufacturing, customer service. If by chance you prefer to hire a consulting firm then the selection project manager will be responsible for coordinating interviews, setting up meetings with managers and key users, overseeing the firm's work and making sure that each department's needs are being taken care of.

Document the Needs of the Company

If your company currently has a system that you are looking to replace, spend some time looking at the system and compiling a list of what you want the new system to cover. These can include items that your current system does not address, or items that are addressed but not adequately.

Create a customized Request for Proposal

Create a document which you can submit to potential vendors, to elicit proposals. Include in your document the key requirements which the proposed software application must deliver, details on what format the responses must take, what your evaluation criteria will be, anticipated schedule for decision making and implementation and any other information which you consider pertinent to your selection process.

Distribute the Request for Proposal to selected vendors

Don't  try and evaluate every product on the market. It's impossible to properly evaluate them all. Before distributing your RFP, do some research and select a handful of potential products (no more than 5) which appear suitable in terms of the functionality you require and your budget. Then identify one or two resellers of each product to submit your RFP to.

Evaluate the responses to your RFP.

Review the responses against your RFP. Eliminate any vendors who have failed to follow your instructions with regard to the format and quality of the response. If they can't do what you request now, they certainly will not perform to expectations after you have given them the job. Select a short list of no more than 3 vendors / products.

Request and Set Up Vendor Demos

You want to be able to see what each vendor has to offer. Talk is cheap, get the vendors in and have them show their software. Make a list of questions and make sure you get answers that satisfy your requirements.

Visit Other Companies

The vendors should be able to provide you with names of other companies that use their software. Plan a visit to companies that you are not a competitor to. See how it is working for them. Ask if they have had any issues and how well those issues were handled.
If you take the time and follow these tips you will find the Enterprise Resource System that fits your company ideally.

 

Wishlist Corporation is a certified reseller and implementer of the Microsoft Dynamics suite of business applications, including Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

 

 

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