10 Tips for Choosing the Right ERP Software for Your Business

Tip 1: Identify the Features Your Business Actually Needs

ERP software is built from multiple modules — Finance & Accounting, Manufacturing, Inventory Management, Order Management, and more. Each module contains a range of features tailored to specific business processes. No business implements every module at once — doing so would waste both time and resources.

That's why you need to identify which modules your business actually needs, saving time and money in the early stages of implementation. As your business needs evolve, you should reassess and expand with additional modules over time.

To do this well, a business needs to complete two key steps: a business review (situational analysis) and a needs assessment. The goal of these two exercises is to answer the following questions:

• What does success look like for your business?

• How is success measured?

• What problems does your business need to solve to achieve that success?

• Which of these goals can an ERP system help you achieve?

A thorough assessment of your business's current situation and needs will help you pinpoint which processes and tasks the new ERP system should take over, which ones can continue to operate independently (without ERP), and which ones require integrating existing software with the new ERP system.

Tip 2: ERP Implementation Must Involve Company Leadership

Implementing ERP software is a major decision that affects a company's entire operations. Leadership must therefore stay closely involved to make the choices that best fit the business. At the same time, leadership must act as internal communicators — helping everyone understand why ERP matters, embrace the change, and learn to use the new software.

Tip 3: Write a Request for Proposal (RFP)

A Request for Proposal (RFP) notifies and informs prospective vendors about the equipment or services a business needs for a specific project. Writing an RFP forces a business to think carefully about its requirements for the ERP system — reconfirming its implementation needs in the process. An RFP also helps ERP solution providers better understand the business's needs, allowing them to recommend and present the most suitable solution.

Tip 4: Evaluate the ERP's Ability to Integrate with Other Software Your Business Uses

If your business processes require additional third-party software, choose an ERP system that integrates easily with other applications. Integrating external systems — such as POS systems, e-commerce platforms, project management software, or supplier management tools — keeps day-to-day operations running smoothly and reduces the need to re-enter data across multiple systems.

Specifically, check whether the ERP system uses industry-standard interfaces such as REST and SOAP APIs. These interfaces offer strong security, having been tested and verified by the developer community and numerous security experts. REST and SOAP APIs are also familiar to most developers, which helps shorten implementation time for the new system.

The ERP system should also support importing and exporting data in CSV format, along with integration with SQL databases through Microsoft's ODBC SQL-based API and JDBC SQL APIs. These capabilities give the ERP system the flexibility to integrate data more easily.

Tip 5: Consider the ERP's Fit for Your Business in Both the Short and Long Term

Businesses are constantly growing and evolving. You therefore need to account for possible future business scenarios (e.g. expanding into international markets) to assess whether an ERP system aligns with your company's direction, both now and going forward. You should also consider the ERP system's technology infrastructure. Would a pre-configured system (such as on-premise) or a more flexible, customizable system (such as cloud) better support your business's growth trajectory?

Tip 6: Evaluate the Credibility of ERP Solution Providers

Thanks to the internet, evaluating the credibility of ERP vendors is no longer difficult. To start, businesses can research potential vendors through sources such as:

• Market research firms: Gartner, Forrester and other market analysis firms publish ERP vendor rankings annually or semi-annually, giving businesses an overview of the vendors currently on the market along with each one's strengths and weaknesses.

• Technology publications: These offer fast, ongoing coverage of ERP solution providers, as well as the latest news on the ERP market, digital transformation, and more.

• Company financial reports: If the ERP vendor is publicly listed, review its financial reports to understand its short- and long-term growth outlook.

• Technology review websites: G2, Capterra, Gartner Peer Insights or Software Advice,… let customers rate and review vendors directly.

• Social media: You can also start discussions in Facebook groups or on LinkedIn.

Once you've narrowed the field down to your top two or three choices, dig deeper into each vendor through channels such as:

• The vendor's website: This is the most authoritative source for understanding how the company operates and the values it stands for. You may also find case studies relevant to your industry, along with other useful resources — blogs, ebooks, and more — to help answer your business's specific questions.

• Existing users of the system: Talk to past customers to learn about their experience with the system and the vendor's support services.

• Finally, search for more information on Google: read both positive and negative feedback about the ERP vendor.

Tip 7: Account for Every Cost

Initial costs typically include the software license fee, annual maintenance fee, computer hardware (for on-premise ERP), data migration, code customization, testing, training, and implementation support from the ERP vendor and the implementation consulting firm. Beyond that, ongoing costs may arise from additional user licenses, support packages from the vendor or implementation partner, add-on services, and further customizations.

ERP implementation costs can vary widely depending on the vendor, the number of modules deployed, the technology infrastructure (cloud or on-premise), and the number of user licenses. The best solution is the one that best fits your business's needs and budget. That's why the more thoroughly you assess your business situation and analyze your needs in the early stages, the more optimal your ERP software choice will be.

Tip 8: Clean Up Your Business Data

One of the biggest challenges businesses face when implementing ERP is determining what data the new system actually needs. You can select data based on the following criteria:

• Remove outdated data: Set a specific cutoff date so that any data created before it is automatically excluded from the migration.

• Remove duplicate or improperly formatted data: Conduct an in-depth data analysis to consolidate and classify all of your business's data, then eliminate as many errors and duplicates as possible.

The data you select also needs to be reformatted for the new system. This is a complex process that requires data and IT expertise, so businesses should set up a dedicated project team to handle it. This team is responsible not only for migrating data to the new system, but also for properly handling any data that isn't migrated, to keep it secure.

Tip 9: Build a Clear Implementation Process

Every ERP system includes a wide range of functions spanning multiple departments within a company. Depending on the product's complexity and the size of the business, implementation can take anywhere from a few months to more than a year. That's why you need a clear, detailed implementation process to bring the system into full operation step by step.

ERP implementation typically consists of six phases:

1. Planning: Gather requirements from various departments to identify the problems ERP needs to solve.
2. Design: Analyze current processes, determine what needs to be adjusted in the system, and define how data will be migrated to the new system.
3. System build: Configure the system based on business requirements, prepare training materials, and enter data into the new system.
4. Testing: Test and fine-tune the system's functions step by step.
5. Go-live: Bring the system into official operation.
6. Support: The project team helps users operate the system, maintains it, and resolves any issues that arise.

Tip 10: Assess What Support Your Business Will Need After Go-Live

ERP vendors typically offer several support tiers (e.g. Bronze, Silver, and Gold). With a basic support package, users get access to the vendor's knowledge base — blogs, guides, ebooks, videos, and more. Higher-tier packages may include direct support from technicians or phone assistance during business hours, or even 24/7.

Estimating and choosing the right level of post-implementation support depends on several factors, such as your business's operating time zone, the in-house IT team's ERP expertise, and any customization requirements for the system. Choosing the right support package helps your business run ERP effectively and avoid unnecessary losses from system errors or downtime.

Choose the Right ERP, Choose NetSuite

NetSuite's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an ideal solution for companies looking to improve performance and automate their processes. Built on cloud computing, NetSuite gives businesses the flexibility and scalability to grow quickly. In addition, the real-time data visibility offered by Oracle NetSuite's True Cloud ERP system helps managers and business leaders make timely, more effective business decisions.

NetSuite grows alongside your business by reducing costs, streamlining business processes, and increasing flexibility — helping you minimize risk and seize new opportunities.

Conclusion

With these 10 tips, your business can not only choose the right ERP system but also gain a deeper understanding of itself through the process of analysis and planning. If you need more information to select the ERP system that's right for your business, CONTACT US NOW and let Citek help you today!