Procurement of ERP platforms and implementation services can be a minefield, extensive requirement gathering and conflicts between the business and technology needs of the business hard to overcome. Everyone has a view on platforms they've used before!
What's most important to assess to get an unbiased view when it comes to buying ERP platforms and implementation partners?
WHAT
In our experience, establishing common ground between the technology requirements and the functional business requirements is key, building desired outcomes helps to create a north star to assess if products will fit the bill.
HOW
Establishing whether a platform meets your needs - (a) natively, out of the box (b) through some configuration, or (c) with an API to another product, or (d) through development is critical. A clear idea of the functional taxonomy and how this is achieved is key and should lead your choice together with price.
WHEN
In our experience, establishing common ground between the technology requirements and the functional business requirements is key, building desired outcomes helps to create a north star to assess if products will fit the bill.
HOW CAN AGILE SOURCING HELP IN ERP PROCUREMENT
AGILITY
In our experience, establishing common ground between the technology requirements and the functional business requirements is key, building desired outcomes helps to create a north star to assess if products will fit the bill.
COLLABORATION
Moving away from arms-length to collaborative processes enables you to test the 'can we work with these people' question. It is vital this is part of your assessment and is so much easier to do with agile sourcing.
PRICE
Using an agile sourcing approach reduces the cost of the platform licences through a clearer understanding of requirements and how these are delivered by the platform. Agile sourcing also reduces implementation partner costs through collaborative working to a solution, thereby reducing the risk of the unknown, and the contingency suppliers may otherwise build in.
TOP TIPS FOR ERP PROCUREMENT
