Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Buyer’s Guide Includes a Category Overview, Top 10 Questions to Ask, Plus, a Capabilities Reference of the Leading 24 Providers for Enterprise Resource Planning Enterprise Resource Planning 2017 Buyer’s Guide anagement INTRODUCTION: Running a business can be a pretty tricky situation. With so many dependent business components, from inventory to finances, your organization can easily turn into a serious mess. That’s why most 21st century businesses are utilizing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. With a number of possible symptoms indicating that you might need an ERP solution, it’s important to recognize that each situation is unique and that it’s important to find the ERP solution that’s right for you. There are a number of reasons why your business may need an ERP solution, and with so many vendors specialization in niche industries, you’re sure to find a solution that fits your needs. A few of the biggest benefits you’ll see from an ERP investment are: 1. One Software for a Number of Processes A good ERP system condenses a number of different processes into one easy to use application. 2. Easy Access to Information about your Business The pace of business is faster today than ever before, which means employees across your company need immediate access to key data. With an ERP solution, executives can get a holistic view of business operations at any time, while other staff can get the information they need to do their jobs more effectively. 3. Financial Management AN ERP system with a strong financial component can ensure that companies meet financial reporting and tax requirements with a single accounting, banking, and payment system. 4. Project Management An ERP project management module removes the guesswork from project-related activities so that companies can select the best projects, assign the proper resources, streamline delivery efforts and track profitability. Whether you are a publicly traded corporation, a government institution or even a small to medium-sized business, there is an ERP solution for everyone and our job is to help you get started evaluating vendors. Our team has spent the hours required to sift through all of information presented by the top 24 vendors and present the highlights in this straight forward summary of each solution. We have also developed a set of 10 questions to ask both yourself and the solution providers you engage as a way to help you move further down the road to selecting the best Enterprise Resource Planning solution possible. Nathaniel Lewis, Editor Solutions Review © 2017 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 2 Enterprise Resource Planning 2017 Buyer’s Guide anagement 5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Selecting an ERP Solution QUESTION #1 What business problems am I trying to solve with this ERP system? Each ERP solution is designed with a specific type of company in mind and comes equipped with Its own set of functionalities. It’s important for you as the customer to identify the business problems that you’re planning to have addressed with the solution. For smaller businesses, you may only need the core ERP essentials, but as your business grows you may require specific ERP capabilities to manage a larger database. There are often some very strong indicators that your organization may need an ERP solution, such as having a difficult time determining how much inventory is in your warehouse, your sales forecast being mostly based on guesswork, and when your company is struggling to keep up to speed with an upsurge of orders or relies heavily on Excel spreadsheets. QUESTION #2 How will this ERP solution affect my business processes? And what can I do to accommodate the solution? ERP systems have traditionally been built to serve the needs of large corporations, and it’s only recently that software companies have begun to target mid-tier and smaller organizations. Today, ERP solutions are designed to accommodate any number of quirks a business might have. That’s why it’s important for you to understand how your business process works at the moment, and what adjustments you would have to make to your processes if you were to purchase an ERP solution. Almost every ERP solution provider boasts the flexibility of their product. It almost gets to the point where it doesn’t really mean anything to the consumer. That’s why it’s important for you as the consumer to be fully educated on the requirements of your potential solution. More often than not, mid-sized businesses require more flexibility from their ERP solution than larger companies due to frequent adjustments in business processes. QUESTION #3 On the ground or in the cloud? Ah, the great timeless question in IT…. While cloud based systems have become much more popular in recent years, there are a number of reasons why your business may choose to keep your files stored locally on premise. For example, costs, security, and your company’s need for customization may all factor into your decision. On-premise file storage is often considered to be a capital expenditure, which means that it’s essentially one large expense upfront to cover the cost. Cloud based file storage is an operating expenditure giving you an additional expense the longer you keep you subscribe to the service. It’s also true that many ERP solutions providers offer a hybridization of the two to better accommodate the needs of their clients. © 2017 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 3 Enterprise Resource Planning 2017 Buyer’s Guide anagement QUESTION #4 Should you get a horizontal or a vertical ERP solution? Basically, horizontal ERP solutions are completely integrated suites that include a module for every business process you may undertake. These solutions are often a bit generic in order to fit a number of company needs. Vertical solutions on the other hand are often what you would refer to as “specialist solutions”. These solutions are designed for one specific industry rather than stretching themselves to cover a number of industries. This is why there is no one ERP vendor that dominates the market; many vendors will try to find a niche market instead. QUESTION #5 What are you actually buying with the purchase of an ERP solution? When you’re buying an ERP solution for your business, you’re not simply buying a single product that will simply be implemented and left to its own devices. When you buy an ERP solution, you are essentially buying an ongoing process of maintenance, upgrades, and support which could last decades. Each of these aspects is critical to the success of your ERP system and need to be considered before purchase. QUESTION #6 Will your company need to implement upgrades and enhancements even if you don’t want to? While ERP solutions aren’t nearly as pricey as they once were, they can still be a hefty expense for your business. Today, many vendors give customers the option for flexible financing options letting buyers spread payments over 3-5 years. Our biggest advice when buying an ERP solution is to not over-buy. You don’t need to buy more licenses than necessary. Because of the modular nature of ERP solutions, you can always add more modules later as you need them. QUESTION #7 Does your company have the IT resources available to support an on-premise installation? Like nearly every software provider, ERP vendors release upgrades and new products pretty much every year. This can be a real headache, as it brings a major invasive change that could turn costly depending on their upgrade pricing. This is why nearly two thirds of mid-sized businesses are running outdated versions of their ERP software. Many companies believe that unless you’re properly prepared to re-implement your locally stored software, it may be wiser to opt for the cloud instead, to ensure that your software stays updated with the least amount of trouble. © 2017 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 4 Enterprise Resource Planning 2017 Buyer’s Guide anagement QUESTION #8 What sort of training is made available by this solution? When you finally lay down all that money for your ERP “Ask each solution, you’d at least like your employees to know how to provider if they use it, right? You should ask the provider if they provide effective training for the solution. If they don’t, you may want include training to ask for some information regarding resources that can be or make it provided to make the learning curve less difficult. Without available at an properly preparing your employees for your new ERP solution, it will be very difficult for them to properly operate the new additional cost.” system. QUESTION #9 What functionalities will my company actually use? ERP solutions these days have the ability cover essentially every business process you can think of. The question for mid-market organizations is whether or not you need all of those capabilities. Often times, ERP functionalities may be too specialized to be very useful for a company or perhaps a company may have an existing or outsourced feature. The bottom line here is not to pay for features that you’re company doesn’t need or won’t use in the future. QUESTION #10 Does the solution vendor have a clear long-term product strategy? After investing a pretty penny in an ERP solution, you’d expect to stay with it for a while, right? Today, the ERP solution market is filled with frequent acquisitions and mergers.