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ERP Evaluation – Indispensable Selection Criteria

ERP Selection Checklist

You’re either planning your ERP evaluation or your team has already started one. Either way, reviewing and validating your ERP selection criteria is a good idea. Since 50% of ERP projects don’t get to Go-Live (project completion) on time (1), and many fail, the stakes are high. Who wants to be associated with a failed ERP project?

Fortunately, if you have a sound ERP evaluation plan in place, one that includes the proper selection criteria, you’re likely to choose your ideal ERP vendor or ERP Solution Provider.

Before Considering ERP Ranking Criteria

  1. Have you created your Business Requirements Document (BRD)? If so, you can skip ahead to the next section.
  2. Have you identified the gap between your ideal ERP solution and what your team is saddled with now?

If you haven’t created a Business Requirements Document or aren’t sure how to create one, you can read Outdated, clunky ERP? Start an ERP Evaluation with this Simple Plan.

ERP Selection Criteria Impacting Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for Cloud ERP Systems

You may wonder why Cloud ERP is assumed. 90% of new ERP purchases are Cloud ERP implementations (2), so it’s a safe bet that your team is considering one of these systems.

Since you identified the value of an ideal solution compared to your current system (see steps above), it’s time to look at the price of a new Cloud ERP system.

One-Time Capital Expenses

ERP system installation and configuration charges. ERP implementations are complex; you will need assistance. The ERP vendor or a Solution Provider will install and configure your new ERP system.

Yearly Operational Subscription Fees

  • ERP Software licenses. These are outlays for the base system and any other standard functionality required.
  • ERP User licenses. Typically, more users equate to higher ongoing costs. The best practice is to start with the smallest number of users needed and then add on as more user licenses are required.
  • Support Licenses. ERP support may be a percentage of the software license or a fixed yearly sum.
  • Training Charges. Upfront training is typically part of your implementation price, but there may also be ongoing training expenditures.

ROI and TCO Calculations – Other Factors

Systems That Won’t Integrate with the new ERP

  • Your ERP will integrate business processes, and it will also incorporate data from existing systems. However, there may be limitations to the ability to integrate. If the new solution requires replacing other systems, that expense will need to be included in your calculations

Implementation Time

  • ERP implementations take anywhere from one month to more than a year.
  • More extended implementations affect the payback period for your ROI calculation. The payback period begins sooner if your project is shorter.

Customization

  • Customizations will be part of your initial capital outlay (if needed).
  • Future customization may be required as your business grows.
  • Does the ERP supplier’s track record show they have the expertise to customize the solution for your company, if necessary?

Other Selection Criteria

Vendor Industry Expertise

Along with evaluating the ERP software costs, you’ll want your ERP Solution Provider to have experience in your industry. Ideally, they will have a successful history of prior ERP installations for companies in your space.

Another way to evaluate expertise is to ask to see an implementation plan. For instance, your ERP project will involve migrating data from other systems and spreadsheets to your new ERP. Improper data migration is a significant risk factor for implementation failure, so you may ask the ERP supplier for a copy of a standard data migration plan.

Vendor Product Road Map

Over time, your business will change. Your future business requirements may be substantially different than they are today. If you’re replacing an existing ERP system, you are experiencing this scenario now. If you are, your current provider probably didn’t change with you, forcing you to evaluate other alternatives. Viewing the product roadmap is critical to determine how the prospective supplier will improve, add to, and support their product in the future. This advanced knowledge will help your team determine if its future requirements will match the prospective supplier’s solution.

Technology

You may be able to take advantage of the benefits of innovative technologies that continue to evolve. These extend the capabilities an ERP system can provide. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) improve business processes and predictive analytics, optimizing the customer experience while surfacing data for more personalized role-based insights. Internet of Things (IoT) devices can feed information back to the ERP. Blockchain technology provides faster transaction processing while simultaneously reducing associated costs.

Customer Experience

When purchasing an ERP system, your team is in a relationship for years to come. The purchase may be a transaction, but it is only one part of your ERP journey. So now is an excellent time to ask the questions listed below.

  • Does the ERP software company make it easy for your organization to buy from them?
  • Does your team enjoy the interactions with your potential ERP Solution Provider?
  • Is the organization one you would be proud to work with and refer to others in the future?

Conclusion

The ideas in this blog are intended to serve as a guide to filling out your ERP evaluation criteria checklist. How you use them is up to you. For example, some teams prefer to provide weights to various selection criteria and calculate an overall score. Other organizations identify more criteria than are listed here. You will be the best judge of how to use this information, which is intended to aid you in making the best ERP selection possible, having a worry-free ERP implementation, enhancing organization productivity, and reducing employee stress.

References:

  1. Jenny Chang, November 8, 2022, 144 Key ERP Statistics 2021: Analysis of Trends, Data and Market Share, Finances Online, https://financesonline.com/erp-statistics/
  2. Rajendra Roul, January 22, 2021, 60 Must-Know ERP Statistics Before Making a Buying Decision, G2, https://learn.g2.com/erp-statistics

 

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For further information, please contact us here. You can also reach out to us at [email protected] or call us at +1 650 488 4412 (Global), +63 917 558 1513 (Philippines), +91 22 4616 3839 (India), +254 720 940 174 (Africa), and +61 452 183 613 (Australia).

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Mr. Shreyansh Patil (Shrey)

Group CEO

Shrey holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales, specializing in consulting.

With extensive experience in Enterprise Cloud Solutions (ERP) and Management Consulting spanning four continents, Shrey is equipped with the ability to bridge gaps between technology and business outcomes that will enhance customer experience. Having held leadership roles in consulting, advisory, and technology organizations across various geographies, Shrey brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record in general management, leadership, and business development. With excellent people management skills and a strong consulting background, Shrey is extremely passionate about adding value through technology and process re-engineering.

Shrey’s unwavering dedication to cultivate a high-performing, customer-centric culture at Softype will empower our team to reach new heights and become the best version of ourselves.

Ms. Juliana Luz

Co-Chairman and Co-Founder

Juliana (Nana) holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Stanford University.

The first development of cloud computing found Nana working in this area with her own start-up. Understanding the benefit of consolidating data and systems into a single version of the truth, she then partnered with NetLedger (now Oracle NetSuite) to offer a fully functional Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system built exclusively on the cloud.

Nana’s expertise includes envisioning change and delivering value to growth-oriented businesses. Utilizing ERP technology and her advanced skills in process optimization, she streamlines processes, eliminates redundancies and manual processes, and facilitates digital transformations for Softype clients.

A ‘hands-on expert, Nana has, since founding Softype, participated in dozens of projects across 26 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and all over Asia. Nana serves on the board of La Proteccion de la Infancia (Gota de Leche) and United Success Global.

Mr. Terence Michael C. Rena

Group AMO/Sales Lead

Terence holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines with a major in Tourism Management.

Terence’s experience includes sales and marketing roles, particularly creating marketing strategies, promotions, and retention programs in the travel and tourism industry. Since joining Softype in 2021, Terence has been a prime driver of marketing insights and a facilitator of key marketing initiatives in the Asia Pacific region. Event management is his specialty, including both online and in-person events that attract potential Softype clients to engage with the brand. Additionally, Terence is the face of Softype to our clients in Asia and Africa, ensuring they receive optimal service.

Personally, Terence enjoys basketball, cycling, guitar playing, mecha (robot) modeling, and video games. His daily mantra is as follows: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Mr. Ebenezer (Ebe) Mutungwa

African Sales

Ebe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ebenezer (Ebe) Mutungwa earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). Ebe combines outstanding communication skills with expert knowledge of NetSuite ERP (5 years in pre-sales for NetSuite Africa). Although, as Softype’s Sales officer for the African continent, Ebe works with organizations in various industries, he has a soft spot for nonprofit organizations. A previous
NGO manager, Ebe understands their challenges and demonstrates how they can leverage the Oracle NetSuite ERP and NetSuite’s Social Impact program to support their mission.

When not working, Ebe enjoys traveling, jogging, playing the guitar, and spending time with family and friends. His words to live by are “Through it all; all is well.”

Mr. Upendra Rabde

Business Architect

Upendra holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Indus Business Academy in Bengaluru, India. His credentials include the academic specialties of Information Technology and Marketing.

Upendra’s experience includes business consulting and business process re-engineering. He brings more than 17 years of technical solution development experience to Softype. He counts experience in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Supply Chain Management (SCM) integration projects in the manufacturing, telecom, healthcare, retail, banking, and insurance industries. He is proficient in procurement solutions and complex regulatory and compliance areas. Upendra also counts additional product management experience in the health care industry.

Joining Softype in 2021, Upendra brings a capability for hyper learning and an outstanding attitude, two traits in the Softype DNA, and is always a pleasure to work with.

On a personal note, he enjoys HAM radio operations and watching cricket matches. Upendra’s philosophy of life is summarized in his daily mantra: Past is history, future is mystery but today is a gift; that’s why it’s called present.

Ms. Prachi Shende

Country Manager (India)

Prachi has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics from the University of Mumbai and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Texas.

Prachi began her working career in the US (California). Over the years, she has moved from a purely technical role to a techno-functional role. As a techno-functional consultant, she can work with business, functional, and technical teams. Her specialty is implementing and customizing systems aligned with industry best practices. During her tenure of service, Softype promoted her five times in five years, culminating with her current position. Versatile and dynamic, Prachi cherishes a fast-paced work environment that allows her professional skills to grow. Her work is in the K-12 and tertiary education domains. She oversees the Softype education ERP (edERP) product development and management. The edERP product continues to evolve and expand due to new requirements in an ever-changing education sector. This gives her a chance to grow by constantly reinventing herself.

Prachi’s passion is to help educational institutions grow by migrating their enterprise-wide resources to cloud based systems. She believes that “Given new situations, the market for edERP, i.e., education on the cloud service, is here to grow. It’s about how we best serve it.”

Ms. Manisha Hule

Senior Vice President of Professional Services

Manisha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Mumbai.

Manisha is the delivery manager for Softype’s ERP services. Experienced in project planning and execution, she provides leadership for all Softype’s solution consulting and implementation activities. Manisha began her career at Softype, working in all of its various departments, culminating in her selection as a member of the Executive team. Manisha has experience in all aspects of project organization and delivery. An excellent team manager, Manisha ensures that customer projects get the optimum resources required, facilitating minimal risk implementations that meet delivery schedules. Manisha’s expertise and guidance are significant factors in ensuring, that, unlike many ERP vendors, Softype implementations are delivered successfully and on time.

Shreyansh Patil (Shrey)

Group – CEO

Shrey holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales, specializing in consulting.

With extensive experience in Enterprise Cloud Solutions (ERP) and Management Consulting spanning four continents, Shrey is equipped with the ability to bridge gaps between technology and business outcomes that will enhance customer experience.

Having held leadership roles in consulting, advisory, and technology organizations across various geographies, Shrey brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record in general management, leadership, and business development.

With excellent people management skills and a strong consulting background, Shrey is extremely passionate about adding value through technology and process re-engineering.

Shrey’s unwavering dedication to cultivate a high-performing, customer-centric culture at Softype will empower our team to reach new heights and become the best version of ourselves.

Dr. Arvind Khilnani

Chairman and Co-Founder

Dr. Arvind holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts), a Master’s degree in Management (MIT Sloan School) and a Ph.D. in Engineering Economic Systems (Stanford University).

A dedicated teacher and mentor, Arvind believes in Leadership through inspiration. Trained as a mathematical modeling and optimization analyst, Arvind focused his early career on developing tools to enable company growth. He worked with Fortune 500 companies to adapt their use of technology for growing new, evolving markets. Presently his efforts seek to expand these tools to small and medium enterprises.

Since co-founding Softype, he has channeled his energies to help international organizations grow by leveraging the benefits of technology, including process optimization and automation.