To use an abstract analogy, when looking for the best fit ERP, Enterprise Resource Planning, solution for your organization think of it as the same process as wedding planning. The similarity stems from the fact that you are not just buying a software product in an ERP solution, just as you are not just planning a Super Bowl party in a wedding, it is far more complicated and serious. Hopefully a marriage will last longer than your erp system, and that your erp system will service your needs longer than a summer fling.

To use an abstract analogy, when looking for the best fit ERP, Enterprise Resource Planning, solution for your organization think of it as the same process as wedding planning. The similarity stems from the fact that you are not just buying a software product in an ERP solution, just as you are not just planning a Super Bowl party in a wedding, it is far more complicated and serious. Hopefully a marriage will last longer than your erp system, and that your erp system will service your needs longer than a summer fling. As with any serious partnership, you begin the process in the analysis stage. You define your objectives: how many people will need to be planned for, what characteristics you are looking for (the check list) and what is your budget and timeframe. Before making the commitment to the venue, you need to address all the stakeholders involved that may impact your decision. In-laws, relatives, department managers, operations personnel, children from a previous marriage and users of the enterprise system need to be incorporated into your decision process. It’s relatively easy to commit to a solution or partnership for achieving short term goals, such as getting an ERP solution for the sake of getting one, but getting the right solution and having a successful “marriage” is the hard part. You may be getting pressure from your superiors, mother in-law and the “go-live” date to make a decision today, but you will be thankful you went through the evaluation process before you make a decision. The best way to begin the analysis on both situations is to get examples of RFP (request for proposal) templates that list out all the major requirements, features, and other key criteria that must be decided on or at least thought about prior to making a decision. After to know what questions to ask yourself and the other key stakeholders in this process, its important to get the stakeholders feedback and get buy in before a decision is officially declared. This will help insure that everyone with the venue of the party, and with the chosen ERP solution. This will better ensure a successful deployment and that everyone will have a good time at the party. Getting stakeholder buy in is important, as it only takes a few, or even one influential stakeholder to ruin the party or implementation and rain of the entire parade. Getting customer referrals, both on the vendors list and off the vendors list (you may need to do a little due diligence to get candid feedback from past customers not on a vendors list of referrals) but this is a must. This is the only way that you can cut to the chase on what to expect from a cost, support, implementation performance and overall customer satisfaction. A flash demo and sales pitches do not give you near enough information to make a decision on and ERP solution. In many cases, once the papers are signed the top notch service and responsiveness dramatically deteriorate, so it’s important to get feedback of level of service after the party is over, so to speak. These pointers will help ensure a successful relationship and ROI on your ERP investment and ultimately be a valuable addition to your organization that will increae productivity performance and profitability.

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