ERP Software Selection

Instead of product sellers, our ERP Software Selection team provides years of real-life experience helping business owners and managers eliminate inefficiencies and improve their business processes. Our ERP selection consultants have extensive knowledge of all the leading ERP softwares and conduct ongoing research on emerging solutions and updates to existing softwares.

Our ERP Selection Methodology

ERP Selection is Strategic

ERP software selection should start with an understanding of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) which we define as those things an organization must do well in order to be successful. We facilitate a management/executive meeting where the CSFs are identified as well as the key requirements to achieve the CSFs.

We also ask how the CSFs are measured (KPIs) and the current metric and the KPI goals for the new system. We think that it’s time to celebrate not when you go live or even if you’re on time and on budget. The time to celebrate is when you reach the KPI strategic goals.

ERP Software Selection independent ERP Consultant

ERP selection - ERP selection consultant

Requirements Analysis

Requirements are critical to the success of a new ERP system:
– To evaluate which ERP softwares are a good fit.
– To identify requirements to be demonstrated.
– To define what is included and what is not included in scope.
– To make sure key requirements are not overlooked during the ERP implementation.

We get this done by:
– Starting with the requirements based on CSF as discussed above.
– Asking management to identify the biggest problems and then discussing how a system could eliminate them.
– Performing a business process review (see below).
– Adding ERP requirements not discussed which we believe are missing based on comprehensive industry-specific checklists.
– Reviewing the ERP requirements with our clients to ensure they are clear, unambiguous, accurate, complete and prioritized.

Business Process Review (BPR)

The Business Process Review (BPR) is our deep dive into requirements. The people in the trenches doing the day-to-day work are interviewed to describe and show their processes.
– We document the business process steps, problems, the impact of the problems, the requirements and a link to screenshots taken.
– We encourage discussion of the problems which should be considered opportunities to overcome in a newly selected ERP system. The requirements are based on what works well in the existing system and should be retained and requirements to fix the problems.
– We also provide swimlane flowcharts for complicated processes. The swimlane flowcharts provide a simple and effective way to visualize the business process flow.

ERP Software Selection Business Process Review

ERP Software Selection_ERP selection consultant

RFP

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a great tool to communicate needs uniformly to vendors and to create a short list of ERP vendors. The ERP requirements are the primary content of the RFP and vendors respond to requirements with a number to indicate fit. EG 9= requirement is fully addressed in the standard system, 8=configuration change… The higher the number, the better the fit. By extending the priority of each requirement times the vendor response, and then summing the results, you get a score that will give you an indication of closeness of fit for each vendor in ERP selection criteria.

The RFP also includes questions related to ERP cost, technology, customer base, developer and implementer qualifications, and similar customers.

We only ask the ERP vendors to respond to the critical requirements initially, which saves everyone a lot of time. Later when, there are just 2 remaining ERP vendors, we ask for a response to all the requirements.

Identify Potential Systems and Implementers

We know not only the potential systems that should be considered but also the ERP implementers. Getting the right implementer is just as important as the right ERP software. Our ERP selection consultants provide guidance on both system evaluation and implementer selection to ensure a successful outcome.

RFP Response Analysis

We prepare an analysis of the systems which include costs, scoring of requirements responses with a % fit, underlying technology, developer and implementer information. The analysis will allow a logical selection of a short list of systems to be demonstrated.

Attend Demonstrations

It is critical to provide the vendors with a script for the demonstration. If not, they will demonstrate what they do best and not necessarily what is needed the most. Lack of a script will also make it very difficult to compare the systems. We recommend 2 demonstrations – The 1st one should be based on the most critical ERP requirements and the 2nd one should be based on business process.

Diagnostic ERP_ERP diagnostic_ independent ERP consultant

Reference checking

Our ERP selection consultants will provide a tailored checklist of questions to ask the references. This step helps validate the performance and reliability of the ERP system and vendor.

Contract Negotiation

We assist in ERP contract negotiations to ensure favourable terms and the best price. Our ERP selection consultants review all contract details and provide written suggestions to improve terms.

ERP software selection is a journey

Let us be your trusted guide to avoid the pitfalls along the way!

Trusted by 150+ Clients

We had a really good experience in the selection process and was impressed with the methodology and their experience. 180 Systems provided an objective view to compare software solutions. Michael was really good, no nonsense, he pushed people that had to be pushed, asked the right questions. On the implementation side, Alex was especially good, well-spoken and well-prepared, and he was highly regarded by our management team. He did a good job of managing prioritizing tasks, and keeping us on track when necessary.

Michael Costello, CFO

Given on: July 10, 2024

At the time, Raltech was looking to replace their existing system, and didn’t have the expertise internally. We did some research, but were not making much progress. We asked our auditors for advice, but felt they were trying to fit them into the systems they already knew. Then I saw Michael mentioned in the CA Magazine, an independent consultant who knew the industry, so we decided to start a dialogue. We were looking for someone independent, who had knowledge of the different systems available, and that’s what we got with Michael. In terms of Michael’s approach, our group found him to be very organized, methodical, and very knowledgeable about the various systems. We were happy with the overall process and results. In hindsight, it might have been helpful to involve 180 Systems during the implementation phase, for advice and oversight

Jess Fagnani, Vice President - Finance

Given on: November 6, 2017

180 Systems is very thorough and gets down to the nuts and bolts of the business to get a thorough understanding of what our user requirements are and understanding of process flows. They ask a lot of good questions about why things are done a certain way and are very good at probing users to discover their issues and formulate requirements that a new system needs to address. 180 Systems gets people relaxed and engaged quickly, focuses on the issues and keeps things moving along. For companies that don't have someone on board that has ERP selection experience, 180 Systems is a great help. They get beyond the "dog and pony show" of vendors, cutting through to the core functionality that does or does not meet your requirements. I'd recommend 180 Systems to any medium-sized company where IT resources are scarce, even to larger companies where IT departments don't have the experience with what S/W is out there, whereas 180 Systems has it all and been there, done that.