Companies Struggle With ERP Selection

http://www.erpsoftwareblog.com/2015/02/study-finds-companies-struggle-erp-system-selection/

Successfully implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can be extremely expensive and time consuming. To make matters worse, the selection of an ERP system comes with many variables. This article/study was posted on the “ERP Software Blog” and it depicts the struggles that companies face when trying to select the correct ERP system. One of the main issues that companies run into is that they cannot predict whether the ERP system will still be useful to them five or ten years from now. Due to the high cost and time spent on implementation, companies should aim to retain their ERP system for at least a ten year time frame. The article also stated that 77% of companies who were interested in investing in an ERP system wanted the system to be completely implemented within six months. Of that 77%, 41% wanted the system implemented within three months. The last point that stood out to me was that 19% of all ERP users wanted a change in system because the one that they were currently using was too expensive for their needs. This article showed me that although ERP systems are helpful, they can be hard to predict, and challenging to implement.

As technology evolves, will the time that it takes to implement an ERP system ever successfully meet the six month time frame that most companies want?

To avoid implementing a system that isn’t useful, what internal questions should companies address when planning an ERP implementation?

Do you think that consulting a business solutions firm such as The Resource Group will help guide your selection correctly?