Vendor selection with tailored criteria
ERP Comparison charts – what’s right?
If you have researched ERP systems and wondered what the right option might be for you, you've probably come across a range of comparison charts from a wide selection of analysts. Eric Kimberling, CEO and Founder at Third Stage Consulting has always been fascinated by these and wanted to understand how they are created, and how to create something similar that would be more suitable for his customers’ businesses.
Third Stage Consulting is an independent firm that supports its clients with their digital transformation journeys. Eric has shared his research, and we’ve captured the highlights below.
Often analysts will provide a graphical competitive positioning of technology providers. The results offer visual snapshots, in-depth analyses, and actionable advice. Analysts will compare vendors based on specific standard criteria and methodology.
Click to read Increase service excellence and profitability with ERP Gated
A different way
For many businesses seeking advice on vendor selection, the criteria used by the analyst may not be what’s top of your list.
Kimberling suggests organizations start with defining their most important criteria. For some, this means finding products that can help them change and pivot and adapt to new markets or expand into new geographies and deal with the unknowns of today's environment. Some organizations are more concerned about products having the ability to handle their unanticipated future needs, not just who they are today but what their needs in the future might be.
Vendors can then be evaluated on their robust breadth of capability outside of the customers’ immediate needs. Often in assessing different systems in the market, it will be found that some are very rigid, or they don't have a complete set of capabilities, or some could meet future needs, but the system is too broad and maybe not as flexible as it could be.
The future of software selection is one in which technology teams are empowered to make informed decisions based on the metrics that matter most.
Greg Benton
Chief Strategy Officer, Third Stage Consulting
When identifying where vendors fall in this overall landscape, organizations can look at what they could accomplish with that software and how they could scale in the next three to five years. Third Stage Consulting recommends using different criteria that are specific to your needs and top priorities.
Using this information, you might need to build multiple views to find out who consistently shows up in the ‘sweet spot’. This exercise can help you identify who might be the right fit for your organization and who will best help you on your digital transformation journey.
How can service-based organizations choose the right ERP?
ERP can transform professional services organizations (PSOs) into efficient, profit-making machines. ERP that is designed for professional services, is purpose-built for service-based businesses to manage and optimize project or service lifecycles from sale to billing. It’s more project-driven than traditional ERP and provides greater flexibility and automation in functionality for core business processes such as project management, resource management, time tracking, and precision billing. This allows services firms to cater to the demanding needs of their diverse clients.
Migrating from manual processes to automated workflows allows professional services organizations to experience greater overall efficiency, lower overhead costs, and faster growth. Instead of using separate platforms for separate processes, professional services organizations can leverage ERP to streamline workflows through integrations and automation. With the right platform, data and work silos are broken down, visibility is improved, and productivity is supercharged.
When everything is information-driven, and your organization has the data infrastructure needed to be successful, you can use ERP software to become the most efficient you can be, leveraging one source of truth.
When choosing the right ERP, here’s what to think about:
- Your organizational needs – evaluate your internal processes and structure and look at where improvements need to be made so you will understand the additional capabilities needed that are specific to PSOs to ensure they are included.
- Identify essential features – weigh up what features are most important to your organization’s current needs.
- Real-time project accounting – a granular level of project finances allows lucrative projects to become repeatable - control of profitability at the project level is vital for maximizing revenue.
- Configuration vs. Customization – be aware of incremental or development costs when comparing different systems.
- Best practices for implementation and adoption – ensure the fastest path to value.
- Organizational growth –choose a system that will allow your organization to capitalize on opportunities to drive profitability, increase customer acquisition and loyalty, and expand operations.
Finally, seek advice from industry professionals and peers. When asking for feedback and advice, focus on aspects like functionality, versatility, scalability, ease of implementation, end-user adoption, the total cost of operation, and vendor support. There are also plenty of independent organizations that offer data, insight, reviews, and advice on selecting the right system. Do your research, and you can’t go wrong.
What can Unit4 do?
Our solutions support all types of service- and project-focused organizations around the world, offering unbeatable industry-specific knowledge and functionality. Check out our ERP suite here for more information.
