ERP Selection 101

This is perhaps one of the best lessons I learned way back in 1998.  What should end users look for while selecting ERP.

1. Vendor Viability and Vision: Number of Years in business and long-term vision of vendor for the business
2. Product Features: This is one of the first things considered, I would like to add one more dimension to it, fit between your company needs and product features
3. Cost: This should NOT include only licensing costs, but all costs like cost of implementation, hardware, upgrades, AMC, ideally 5 year costs should be taken into account
4. Flexibilility: Business change in terms of their processes and size, ERP should be flexible enough
5. Implementation Partner: How many implementation has he done in the same type of company/industry and what level of consulting expertise he is going to deploy for your implementation.