ERP selection frequently begins in the wrong place: with a shortlist of products and a series of demonstrations. Every modern system demonstrates well. The differences that matter emerge in configuration, data migration, integration and the eighteen months after go-live.
Write the requirement before you see a product
Document what has to be reported, controlled and automated, and which of those are genuinely non-negotiable. A requirement written after the demonstrations will, without anyone intending it, describe the system that was demonstrated most persuasively.
Cost the whole thing
- Licensing across the full user population, including occasional and approval-only users
- Implementation and configuration effort, honestly estimated rather than quoted optimistically
- Data migration and cleansing — routinely the most underestimated line
- Integration with the systems you are keeping
- Training, and the productivity dip during the first two closes
- Ongoing support and the cost of internal capability to administer it
Judge the implementation partner separately
The software and the people configuring it are two distinct decisions, and the second predicts the outcome more reliably than the first. Ask who specifically will be assigned, what comparable work they have delivered, and what happens when the project team demobilises.
Plan for the second year
Systems are usually judged on go-live and lived with for a decade. Ask how the configuration will be maintained, who owns the chart of accounts, and how the first structural change will be handled — because there will be one.
This article is general commentary and not advice on any specific set of facts. For guidance on your own circumstances, speak to our team.