Five Questions No One Asks When Choosing an ERP
It’s easy to compare the list of modules. The main difference becomes apparent when incorrect data is entered into the system.
In demo sessions, the same list is always compared: how many modules, how many reports, how many integrations. This list isn’t enough to distinguish between two products—because they all have them.
The questions that make the difference are these:
1. What happens when incorrect data is entered?
A good system does not accept an incorrect entry—or, if it does, makes it reversible. A bad system saves the entry and only shows the error in a report three months later.
2. Who changed what and when?
An audit trail is not an “enterprise feature”—it’s a daily necessity. If there’s no answer to the question “Who changed this price?”, that question turns into an argument every single time.
3. How do I extract the data?
There are systems that are easy to enter data into but difficult to extract data from. Before you start, ask in what format and how quickly you’ll be able to retrieve your data when the contract ends.
4. Do the modules actually communicate with each other?
The word “integrated” often just means “we do nightly data transfers.” If there’s a transfer, there’s a delay; if there’s a delay, two records will remain out of sync for a while.
5. Who do I contact when something goes wrong?
Support without a response time commitment isn’t support—it’s just good intentions. The response time for each level of urgency must be specified in writing.
A product that can’t provide clear answers to these five questions will waste your time in the first six months, no matter how long its list of modules is.