Many articles you’ll find here on ERP.com make the point that the very first filter to apply when developing a list of ERP software vendors to talk to is applicability to your industry and your particular type of company.  Many of the modules you use—accounting, HR, business intelligence—are going to be equally applicable to any organization. But the modules that are going to provide real competitive advantage are the ones that have been developed for your vertical market, and that take into account specific regulatory requirements, industry standards and practices.  Companies like Lawson, Epicor, Infor and cloud specialist NetSuite have carved out niches for themselves through offering many flavors of their basic ERP capability.

ERP system

Get the right ERP system for your type of business.

Here are five of the areas of specialization you’ll find.

Manufacturing. Actually, manufacturing is a category with many subcategories. For example, process manufacturing is fundamentally different from discrete manufacturing, and manufacturing highly complex products, say jet engines, is far different from manufacturing commodity widgets. Epicor offers eleven different manufacturing solutions, for makers of industrial equipment and automotive products to medical devices. ERP systems for manufacturing should include Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Manufacturing Resource Planning  (MRP) to aid in forecasting, scheduling and monitoring the manufacturing process, from raw materials to finished goods. If you need to manage multiple manufacturing sites in real time, there are systems that can synchronize that process, too.

Retail. Retail systems focus on helping retailers manage their inventory like playing a piano. They employ technologies like bar code reading and RFID tag scanning to immediately identify and categorize incoming shipments, and point-of-sale technologies to provide visibility into what’s selling and what’s not, in real time. Merchandising tools help accelerate slow moving merchandise and loss-prevention tools reduce shrinkage.

Government, education and non-profits. Organizations in these sectors require financial accountability and transparency. ERP systems for these areas include applications for forecasting, budgeting and reporting. Systems need to support compliance with mandated requirements and capability for defining, measuring, and communicating the economic, social, and political returns of a government project or programs. Lawson for Public Sector includes tools for grant management.
Distribution. In distribution, the focus is on the warehouse and an ERP system for this sector must have robust technology for managing incoming and out going shipments, for rooting out slow sellers and dead inventory, and tightly matching inventory with real demand. Modules usually packaged in a distribution ERP system include warehouse management systems (WMS), supplier relationship management (SRM), planning and scheduling software and customer relationship management (CRM). Distribution ERP must also have significant capabilities for forward and backward lot traceability, especially in food and beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical distribution.

Professional Services. Architectural and engineering firms, advertising and public relations agencies, consulting, accounting and legal firms all require ERP systems with a strong project management component, and the ability to manage and add efficiency and agility to workflows. Each industry, though, has its own “best practices” and unique requirements and regulations, which must be embedded in the software. Expect to find tools for time/expense capture and progressive project billing. Customer relationship management (CRM) software should be included.

ERP is a big tent. It includes a wide range of software companies, generalists and specialists. Don’t compromise; the more specialized your business is, the more specialized your ERP system will need to be.

Written by :

tracey boxer