As the economy continues to improve, more companies will be in the market for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and they will find themselves with choices more varied and expansive than ever before. The vendors and systems of the past are gone, replaced with an array of bewildering, modern options.

Unsurprisingly many companies find themselves at a loss as they attempt to sort through the options available to find the software that will best suit their business needs. Here are a few tips to help your organization evaluate solutions for the strongest fit and most benefits:

Don't set too many limits: It can be tempting to decide at the get-go that you will go with industry-specific ERP, or that you won't consider anything but general ERP packages, but this means you might miss out a great solution. Instead of setting limits along industry lines, base your choices on business requirements and budget needs. It is advisable to draw up a list of six to ten providers who can supply both industry-specific and general ERP packages.

Identify deal-breakers: What are the key requirements your chosen solution must have? Use these necessary features to whittle away at your list. Inform vendors on your list of the deal-breakers and find out whether they can meet your organization's demands.

Conduct detailed assessments: Once you have a short list of potential vendors it is time to start analyzing the strengths of the software they offer. Outline detailed business requirements that your organization needs from an ERP solution and ask vendors to create demo scripts to ensure their product is a good fit for your company. 

Accent Software is a leading manufacturing ERP software provider, dedicated to offering our clients the most advanced solutions available. We can help you find a solution that perfectly meets your needs.