Choosing an ERP solution: How many features or functionalities?

Which of the documented features are actually valuable and how many are just in a checklist? Take a closer look at your vendor’s proposal.

Questions

If you’re wondering why you should do this, there are two issues to consider. First of all, in theory, every ERP system can handle the operations you’ll specify, depending of course on its customization. ERP systems can be extremely flexible, but this does not necessarily mean that they are ready to perform any and all tasks by magic. Secondly, it is almost certain that vendors will try to promote as many of the available advantages as possible, emphasizing on those they want to. Practically, this leads to a long list of features that are not necessarily thoroughly explained in regard to their functionality.

This approach makes sense for vendors, since most leads make their choice based on the documented features, without looking into their essential functionalities. So, if a customer is just checking lists, the vendor does not need to worry about the usefulness of the provided features. Nevertheless, for customers, this feature list can be meaningless or even deceiving in some cases. What customers need is useful features that will help them take advantage of their ERP system in the best possible way. After all, how many of the documented offerings are actual features and how many are just items in a checklist? To answer this question, you need to take a closer look at your vendor’s proposal.

and answers

In order to evaluate an ERP system, you need to go through the feature list provided by your vendor, but you need to do so with caution and make sure to check their actual functionality. Obviously, this process requires devotion and more time, in order for you to decide on your ERP investment. But this is not something to stand on your way. You can start by checking the documentation and using the provided descriptions to distinguish between useful and redundant features.

This process will certainly require more time, in comparison to just checking a list of features, but it will help you avoid making the wrong choice and the cost that goes with it. The evaluation of all options, before making the final choice for your ERP system, remains a complex and time-consuming process, at least if you intend on doing it the right way. But, that’s perfectly acceptable, since the deployment of an ERP system is an important decision with long-term consequences.

After all, by choosing a trustworthy vendor, such as SoftOne, you’ll have step-by-step guidance throughout the entire process selection, customization and deployment. In reality, this is the only right way for your business to go about it.