Dive Brief:
- Every ERP system has its variables. Trade-offs are to be expected, as no one system excels in every area, according to a recent report by Panorama Consultng Solutions, which ranked the top 10 systems.
- The biggest or most well-known ERP providers are not necessarily the most highly ranked. Infor CloudSuite and IQMS beat out the legacy SAP HANA, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics 365 in some categories.
- Implementation cost and duration, time to payback, and customer functionality ratings must all be considered before choosing the provider that best suits a company's needs.
Dive Insight:
The wealth of ERP systems on the market can easily overwhelm companies looking for a software upgrade, but the most important takeaway from the report is that the most complex systems are not necessarily the best-fit solution for all companies.
Complex solutions require complex analytics, and if the goal of an ERP system upgrade is purely transactional, a company should reconsider whether having real-time tracking capabilities is worthwhile. After all, reviewing a wealth of data can be baffling.
In addition, the more complex the ERP the more likely it is to raise implementation cost and duration, and consequently reduce the time to payback. Companies should also consider corporate talent, and whether employees are prepared to handle new systems. If not, execs may be faced with the uncomfortable scenario of explaining heavy losses due to a poorly implemented system.
