A software replatform project can be one of the most involved projects an organization can undertake. But before the technical work can begin, one big decision has to be made: picking a new software. The software selection process can be just as overwhelming as the implementation itself, and it’s not uncommon for us to hear from clients who are looking for some advice. Here’s our approach for selecting an ERP software.
We start every software selection off with a Business Process Review. This process goes over the existing business processes and focuses on identifying the exceptions to standard processing. The processes reviewed include Order to Cash, Procure to Pay, and Plan to Make.
Any third-party systems that interact with the current ERP are identified and their interfaces are analyzed. This helps our team understand any required integration points needed for the new software system.
Requirements for Reports, Interfaces, Conversions, Enhancements, and Forms (RICEF) are identified and documented.
A scoring matrix is created to identify the key requirements for the new software system and assign a scoring system to those requirements. During the vendor demonstrations, those involved in the software selection process will use the matrix to score each vendor.
After some research, five-to-six potential software providers are identified. These providers should appear to be a reasonable fit for the client and their ERP needs.
Short process review demonstrations are conducted with the Long List vendors. The goal of these demonstrations is for the client to become more familiar with the software and identify those that seem to fit both the client’s software needs and company culture.
After the process review demonstrations, a few of the Long List vendors should be selected as potential software providers. Ideally a client will only pick two or three vendors, but all could be potentially included. Traditional RFI/RFP processes are executed with the selected vendors.
The top vendors facilitate software demonstrations, with our team and the client’s team capturing the appropriate scoring information using the scoring matrix. When possible, these demonstrations should use the client’s data.
Once the demonstrations are complete, our team will help the client in final evaluations of the vendors and, ultimately, a software selection. From there, our team is ready to help the client implement their new ERP system.
Of course, every project is different, and we tailor our approach to the situation at hand. But, if you’re looking to pick a new software, these steps are a good place to start.
Do you need help picking a new ERP software? Contact our experienced team.
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