Finding the perfect ERP professional for your business can be a daunting task, especially when you consider how similar ERP services can seem on the surface. While services are important to look at, choosing the right ERP professional for your company requires a lot more consideration. For instance, there are a lot of companies out there who claim to be the best, but are they really? How can you tell the difference between genuine professionals and beginners? These are the kind of questions that you need to answer before making a decision.
Focus On The Present, But Don’t Be Afraid To Look Ahead
You’ll never find the best ERP professional services if you don’t understand your software goals. Most businesses have somewhat clear established business needs, but you need to dig a little deeper. That means considering current pain points for both your users and customers, as well as determining the most important processes that your ERP system needs to be able to support.
Just make sure that you don’t limit your planning to the present. Do you want to see your business expand, diversify your services/products, and maybe even gain a more substantial international presence? Do you think that your company might add on a CRM or eCommerce system at some point in the future? All of these questions play a vital role in determining which ERP professionals will serve as the best certified ERP professionals for your software journey.
Imagine the following scenario: A food service business is won over by a consulting firm’s pitch for their ERP implementation services. The firm that pitched these services happens to specialize in manufacturing. They’ve provided a substantial amount of winning solutions for manufacturers but don’t know the primary concerns that foodservice companies face. This ERP solution, therefore, failed in user adoption because it wasn’t implemented to meet the industry demands.
Now, let’s look instead at a company that has selected a consulting firm with extensive knowledge about their industry. This increases the chances that everything goes smoothly upon going live, but when the company decides to integrate a CRM system, they have to restart their search. The company is perfect when it comes to knowledge regarding their industry but knows little to nothing about CRM and integrations, forcing the client to look somewhere else.
Both of these situations can be avoided if businesses take a proactive approach to their ERP professional search. You could come across multiple companies that are indeed the best at what they do, but if their specialties don’t align with your needs, you should keep looking.
Always Meet With Consultants
Don’t decide on an ERP professional without meeting them first. Furthermore, don’t meet with an ERP consultant without researching and writing down questions first. Consider the following example questions:
- Does the company have experience in your industry?
- How much time do you have for implementation?
- Can they show you data-driven results?
- Have they encountered project failure before? What was their response?
- How will the software integrate into your business?
These questions are meant to help you decide whether the ERP professional can meet your specific business needs. The right consultants should be able to explain how their solutions can solve particular problems, present compelling data that shows their experience, and demonstrate their honesty and support. In addition to bringing your questions to the meeting, make sure that you also bring a checklist and take notes. This will help you focus on what the ERP professional can offer and if they’re a good fit for you.
Do Some Digging
You need to be prepared to do some digging into each ERP services company that you are considering. Besides asking the questions listed above, you also want consultants to provide you with references. You want them to have certifications in the particular software vendor you intend to use for your project, or at the very least, experience working with that software or your industry. If references aren’t provided, you can reach out to previous clients to find out the pros and cons of their experience with the firm. In addition, you can also go online to check out reviews and even do some digging into some of the ERP professionals.
Verify Your Decision
Whether you’re looking for ERP professionals in Cleveland, Miami, or Los Angeles, you need to make sure that you verify your decision. While looking at reviews might be enough for some people, it’s not a bad idea to look into aspects of how a business operates as well. Look into the founders and CEOs of the company. What are their values? What companies do they invest in? What is their business model? Did their company gain or lose revenue last year? These are all questions that can help you come to a more definitive decision.
Erphub is a leading Cleveland-based system consulting, ERP solution development, and administration service that can ensure your business efficiency is raised to its optimum level. At Erphub, we provide access to informational tools, a variety of basic ERP software packages, and the option to choose a completely custom ERP solution for your business. For more information, just connect with us by email or call us.
