Fast-Tracked ERP Software Selection for a Multi-Site Contract Manufacturer
A structured ERP software selection process translated complex multi-site operations into clear requirements, accountable vendor responses, and a phased roadmap for growth.
Selecting ERP Software for a Growing Multi-Site Manufacturer
A rapidly growing U.S.-based contract manufacturer had reached an inflection point. The business was expanding across multiple facilities while supporting both engineer-to-order project work and more repeatable production programs.
QuickBooks, spreadsheets, manual handoffs, and site-specific tools were no longer enough to manage purchasing, inventory, production, job costing, customer orders, quality, and reporting. The company needed more than new software. It needed an ERP platform that could support how its operations actually worked across different sites and manufacturing models.
The future ERP needed to address complex BOMs and routings, shifting project priorities, material availability, outside processing, inspection holds, billing triggers, site-to-site differences, and leadership’s need for more trustworthy visibility.
John Hannan LLC was engaged as a vendor-neutral ERP advisor to lead the selection process, document requirements, structure the RFP, coordinate vendor responses, and help leadership evaluate ERP platforms and implementation partners against the criteria that mattered most to the business.
Making ERP Visions a Reality
Operations first ERP requirements
Structured, vendor-neutral evaluation
Practical phased ERP roadmap
Outgrowing QuickBooks and Disconnected Site-Level Processes
-
Purchasing, inventory, production, quality, finance, and reporting relied on a mix of QuickBooks, spreadsheets, email, paper forms, and plant-specific tools
-
Teams lacked consistent visibility into when material should be purchased, where inventory was located, whether it had passed inspection, and when a job was truly clear to build
-
Different facilities operated under distinct manufacturing models, including project-based engineered work with shifting priorities and more repeatable production with daily output expectations
-
Finance needed stronger job costing, WIP and inventory visibility, more reliable billing triggers, and reporting leadership could trust
-
Leadership needed a scalable ERP path that could support growth without creating unnecessary customization or another disconnected technology layer
-
The company wanted an accelerated Phase 1 focused on the minimum viable operating foundation, followed by later phases for advanced planning, integrations, portals, analytics, and other enhancements
From Complex Operations to Clear ERP Requirements
-
Engaged John Hannan LLC as an embedded client-side ERP advisor to lead a structured selection across multiple sites and business functions
-
Facilitated focused discovery with executive sponsors and business process owners across finance, cost accounting, quoting, order-to-cash, planning and scheduling, procurement, outside processing, inventory, warehouse operations, production, engineering, product data, quality, IT, data governance, and reporting
-
Turned distributed operational knowledge into a structured requirements package vendors could address requirement by requirement
-
Built the evaluation around real manufacturing scenarios including material planning, clear-to-build visibility, project and job costing, engineering changes, multi-site operations, supplier management, outside processing, WIP, quality holds, barcode usability, billing readiness, and reporting accountability
-
Prepared and issued a formal ERP RFP defining the business environment, phased implementation expectations, fit-gap response structure, timeline requirements, training and knowledge transfer expectations, support requirements, and commercial information needed for consistent comparison
-
Required vendors to distinguish standard functionality from enhancements and third-party applications, document assumptions, identify key implementation resources, and provide realistic delivery expectations
-
Evaluated ERP platform fit and implementation partner fit as connected decisions, recognizing that the delivery team and implementation approach were as important as the software itself
-
Helped leadership separate Phase 1 must-haves from later capabilities so the company could address its most critical operating needs without overloading the initial implementation
For a growing manufacturer, selecting ERP requires defining the right scope, translating operations into measurable requirements, evaluating both the platform and implementation partner, and holding vendors accountable for how they will support the business. John Hannan LLC helped this contract manufacturer bring that structure to a complex, fast-moving decision while keeping the business at the center of the selection.
A Structured Decision With a Practical Path Forward
-
Moved the company from an urgent need for a new ERP to a documented, structured selection process grounded in actual business requirements
-
Gave leadership a clearer view of which ERP vendors and implementation partners were best aligned to operational complexity, timeline expectations, cost, and delivery risk
-
Created shared agreement on which capabilities were essential for Phase 1 and which could be introduced after the core operating foundation stabilized
-
Established consistent fit-gap criteria so vendor responses could be compared against the same business needs rather than demo impressions or software brand recognition
-
Gave implementation planning a stronger starting point with clearer requirements, known site-level differences, identified data readiness risks, integration priorities, and phased scope decisions
-
Created a scalable ERP roadmap designed to support growth across multiple facilities while recognizing where operating models needed to remain distinct