Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) refers to a complete package of software that helps organization manage day-to-day businesses, resource planning, forecasting and budgeting. It automates and integrates different activities of a business process to ensure seamless operation across the organization (Monk and Wagner). However, ERP implementation failure rate is as high as the failure rate of organizations without an ERP (Leon). Only a perfect between the vendor and type of solution can guarantee a success in ERP implementation. Obviously, the selection of the right ERP solution and vendor is crucial. Several factors including cost, budget, platforms, type of solution play influencing role in the selection of an ERP (Harwood). The following section will review seven industry leading ERP solution vendor and their offerings to reach a decision about selecting the appropriate vendor for the organization. For the purpose of simplicity, let us assume that the organization in question is a middle sized company operating in the manufacturing industry.
Vendors
Expandable by Expandable Software
The ERP system is specially designed for manufacturing businesses. Customer reviews with the highest rating among three feedback categories including overall functionality, user-friendliness and customer services. The vendor offers three platforms including web-based, cloud-based and PC-based solutions. Free trail, 24/7 support and training program are few traits of the vendor. The solution includes inventory management, financial management, purchase and sales management, accounting and asset management, supply chain management and warehouse management. Cost of deployment is $20K to $200K or $250 per user per month(Capterra). The vendor has a good informative response in offering its solution to the website. All the information needed to differentiate and distinguish its products among competitive product line.
AlloyERP by AlloyERP
The offered ERP is best in every category in which customer rated it except for few complaints against user-friendliness. $95 per month for as many users, modules or functionality as the customer needs (Capterra). Provides cloud, SaaS and web-based solutions. Online training and online support are available for business hours only. It has every types of modules needed for a manufacturing company. However, the vendor has no information about itself. However, the product line is up to the mark and lacks integrity.
SDS4 Distribution Software by SDS Distribution Software
The vendor offers high end product at a reasonable one-time price–$1250 for one user for unlimited time. Offers all types of platforms and supports including both online, documentation and in-person training. Although designed for small parts industry, it incorporates all full-fledged modules that can be customized to suit any business purposes. The user has rated it to be a very good software in the industry.
PayTraq by PayTraq
PayTraq offers ERP solution for small to mid-size businesses. It is cheap but extensive, can be customizable to suit the purpose of the manufacturing business. It costs only $15 per month. It can be operated through cloud and web based platforms. It offers documentation training and support only during business hours.
XERP by Extreme Solutions
The vendor offers competitive price, $10,000 for complete purchase or $1,000 per module for modular purchases. It can be run via cloud or web based platform and offers online, documentation and in-person training to users. 24/7 support is the key trait of the business, which essentially make it a popular product. The vendor puts its effort to craft the software especially suited for industrial, textile and trading industries. All essential modules starting from human resource management to warehouse management are integral to the software.
XoroERP by Xorosoft
The ERP offered by the vendor is cloud based and appropriate for medium and small organizations that deal in manufacturing industries. It price is not very high and it offers comprehensive training and support to its customers. Alongside various modules, the vendor offers business analytics tool with the package that are extremely helpful for the review and management of the business.
AMT by Orion Systems Integrators
Despite the ERP has received positive user feedback, the vendor has not published much details about the software. It can be customizable to suit to the purpose of the manufacturing industry and can be a great solution for mid-sized business.
Analysis
Expandable is a good solution for its ERP suits well with the business objective of the company. The cost is appropriately adjusted to the number of modules and user registered. No additional cost incurs for online support. AlloyERP is good for its price and can serve small sized business but is not appropriate for medium to large scale businesses due to its limited scope of work. SD4S has the potential to become a comprehensive competitor but it lacks expertise in manufacturing industry. PayTraq offers a viable solution at the cheapest price but it is overly simple and cannot accommodate complex business logics essential to run a manufacturing business (Capterra). XERP by Extreme Solutions is a very good option for the company in question because the price is much lower compared to the high-end features and facilities it is offering. The vendor is specialized in the manufacturing industry and has a good adaptive knowledge about customer’s need. XoroERP will be a good choice for the company if it focuses on business analytical tools along with the ERP. The Orion Systems Integrators has shown poor professionalism in providing less details about their product. Few information could be gathered about the price and modules of the software.
Conclusion
Considering several competing factors, it is safe to say that XERP by the extreme solutions stands the possibility of being selected as the required ERP solution for the medium size company operating in the manufacturing business. The price is comprehensive and the features are well adaptive to the purpose of the organization. The vendor is very organized and comprehensive in offering a competitive price for the entire solution. All the traits and features that the vendors in the above discussion possess, Extreme Solutions contains them all and their ERP has all possible modules to manage both man, money and machine within the organization. The sales pitch of the vendor is definitive and is easily distinguishable from its competitors due to its features, industry related experiences and highly customizable platform. Therefore, we recommend XERP from the Extreme Solutions has all the potentials to be the right choice for implementing a complete ERP solution within the organization.
ERP has the higher failure rate in implementation than its success in automating business processes. Due to several key factors involved in selecting right vendors, professional help needs to be sought to avoid any future complexity. A modular and small step implementation is highly appreciable as it has the higher rate of success.
Works Cited
Capterra. "Expandable." 14 March 2018. Capterra.
https://www.capterra.com/p/42408/Expandable/. 10 April 2018.
Harwood, Stephen. ERP: The Implementation Cycle. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003.
Leon, Alexis. Enterprise Resource Planning. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2008. Print.
Monk, Ellen and Bret Wagner. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning. Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
