All Posts
The One Requirement That Decided It - Six ERP Selections, Six Capabilities
Requirements workbooks run to three hundred lines. In the six selections here, one capability shaped each decision, none of them finance, and here is how to find yours before the RFP goes out.
Oct 227 min read
Why ERP Selection Mistakes Show Up at Go-Live - What Broke First, and Where It Was Decided
Most ERP go-live problems were decided months earlier, in the RFP, the demo script and the statement of work. Here is what broke first in the programs we supported, and where each one was really decided.
Oct 228 min read
Choosing the ERP Implementation Partner - The Weighted Scorecard, From Twenty Names to One
Software and partner are two decisions. Here is how we run the second one - the weights, the funnel from about twenty names to one, the five things a partner has to prove, and the subcontractor nobody on your side picked.
Oct 228 min read
What Actually Moves the Price - ERP Contract and License Negotiation From the Client Side
The discount is the easiest part of an ERP proposal to see. The term, the increases, the start date and the renewal terms are where the money is - what we have seen move, and how to keep the decision on your calendar.
Oct 229 min read
AI in Manufacturing ERP - The Four Questions Executives Ask First
Every executive team asks the same four questions about AI in an ERP - security, accuracy, reliability and cost. Here is how to answer each one, and how to weigh AI features in an ERP selection.
Oct 219 min read
One ERP for Every Branch - What Changes When a Distributor Runs a Dozen Locations
A system that runs one warehouse well can still fail at twelve branches. What changes in an ERP selection for a multi-branch distributor, and how to test for it before you sign.
Oct 56 min read
Buy-and-Build ERP - Bringing Acquisitions onto One System Without Stopping the Business
A platform that buys a company every year cannot run a new ERP project every year. How to choose one system once, build a repeatable onboarding playbook, and bring each acquisition on without stopping the business.
Oct 56 min read
Five-Year Cost of Ownership - How Finance Should Compare ERP Proposals
Three ERP proposals, three different shapes. How finance builds a like-for-like five-year cost of ownership, which lines vendors leave out, and what the comparison tells you to negotiate.
Oct 59 min read
ERP Selection for Multi-Plant Manufacturers - What Changes When You Run Three Plants
A system that runs one plant well can still fail at three. What changes in an ERP selection for a multi-plant manufacturer, and how to test for it before you sign.
Sep 255 min read
Getting an ERP Selection Approved - The Business Case Your CFO Will Sign
Most ERP business cases ask the CFO to approve a guess. A better one asks for a smaller first decision and shows what the business is losing today.
Sep 255 min read
How to Hire an ERP Selection Consultant, and What to Put in the RFP
Most firms that call themselves ERP consultants sell or implement software. How to find one that works only for you, what to ask, and what to put in the RFP.
Sep 255 min read
ERP in the First 100 Days After an Acquisition - What to Decide Now and What Can Wait
The deal closes in a day; the ERP decision takes a quarter. What an operating partner should settle about systems in the first 100 days after buying a manufacturer or distributor, and what can wait.
Sep 256 min read