Erp software evaluations

RFP Templates TEC Insight Reports. Discrete Manufacturing ERP 7, Distribution ERP 2, ERP for Small Business 3, Mixed-Mode ERP 3, Financial HR Marketing 7. Website Manufacturing 6, Electronics and High-tech Components 5, Warehousing 5, Food and Beverage Products 5, Wholesale and Retail Trade 5, Construction 4, Education 2, Engineering and Architecture 4, Finance and Banking 3, They may not have much experience with actual ERP implementations, so it's important to talk to someone who does.

Benchmark your project against projects of similar size and scope, he suggested. Don't forget to address non-technical needs such as change management, user training and process workflow definition. Such factors tend to get overlooked by technology-focused system integrators, VARs and vendors, he said, calling it a "critical blind spot.

Involve business people and not just technical types, Kimberling reiterated. Through its research studies, Panorama has found that the most effective ERP projects are ones in which users are involved throughout the project lifecycle, from evaluation all the way through to post-implementation training.

Again, many companies choose to do this after they purchase software. But Kimberling believes it helps speed ERP implementations if it is done during the evaluation stage. VARs, vendors and system integrators tend to focus on system-level transactions.

It's important to also include business processes. Kimberling referred to another key statistic from the ERP Report: 60 percent of respondents said they were receiving 50 percent or less of anticipated ERP benefits. Kimberling said this is often because those involved with ERP projects create a business case designed to get a green-light for the project rather than one that outlines actual business benefits.

Identify where and how you will gain benefits by achieving business goals, he urged — and make the goals "actionable, realistic and measurable. Your ERP needs a system for to manage and track participation in benefits programs, including insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement programs. If you need to determine the resources required to meet production requirements, a CRP module is essential within your ERP.

Some organizations require production planning, scheduling, and an inventory control system. If this is part of your requirements as well, check that the ERPs you are evaluating include this module.

Do you need to use bills of material when creating production orders to manufacture products? If so, be sure this feature is built into whatever ERP you are considering. Email tools come in many different platforms. However, if your ERP is also your core CRM as listed above , make sure that robust email tools are part of the product feature set. Here again is a choice of organizational preference whether your ERP acts as your point of commerce or you select a stand-alone commerce platform.

If you want help improving overall efficiency, accuracy of financial reporting, and shortening close cycles, having advanced allocations functionality in your ERP is critical. You need a tax administration technology as a core part of your ERP solution as it inherently saves your finance team substantial time, money and effort.

Managing your products and manufacturing and business processes is a fundamental and continual challenge your organization likely faces. Having a solid ECM component ensures that challenge is most effectively handled.

The solution should have ECM with central logistics functions that can be used to change various aspects of production basic data depending on specific conditions. ATP software module gives manufacturers better visibility into completion through all levels and across the entire supply chain. This may functionality may be optional to your organization but is something many organizations need to have come standard in their ERP.

You need to track costs based on the activities that are responsible for driving costs in the production of manufactured goods using APS. It should also be able allocate raw materials and production capacity optimally to balance demand and plant capacity.