ERP Vendor Demonstration Check List: Making the Most of your ERP Demo

Ok.  You have made a short list of potential vendors and products, had your initial conversations, and now you are ready to take the next step in the process…it’s time for demonstrations. This is your time to see the solution in action, ask specific questions, explore the features, and get a better feel for the vendor.  As with the steps leading up to this, there are a number of things you need to do prior to, during, and after the demo’s to ensure you have all of the information you need to make your final ERP vendor selection. Here is what you need to do:

1. Get a team together representing all of the functional areas of the company so everyone can weigh in to ensure the ERP system and vendor addressed all the needs and processes across the organization. This team should then come up with a list of important questions and concerns to be addressed during the demo specific to their functional areas, processes, and needs.
2. Make a schedule. Take the list of questions and concerns your team came up with in the first step and then make a list of features and functions you will want to see during the demo based on that list. Pass this along to the vendors so they know what exactly you are hoping to see so they can demonstrate parts of the software which will be relevant to your needs.
3. Score Sheets. What is important to you in an ERP vendor? In an ERP system? This is also something to discuss with your team and come up with a scorecard outlining potential strengths and weaknesses of both the system and the vendor themselves. During the demonstration everyone will fill this out and make notes to use as a reference during the final selection. 
4. Always compare the systems apples to apples- not apples to bananas. This is not really a “to do” but MUST be said before demo day. Be sure that while evaluating multiple systems you are comparing them equally. Compare how each program handles the same function. This is extremely important in making sure you walk away with an accurate comparison of the products.

The next step? Making your final ERP vendor selection. What are some other important considerations and prep work to be done before a demonstration? Please share in the comments section below!

e2b teknologies provides ERP, accounting applications, custom cloud-based software development services, accounts receivable management software, and calibration services through its three business units – e2b anytime apps is the publisher of Anytime Collect accounts receivable management software, Anytime Assets, Anytime 500, and related Anytime brand products. e2b enterprise develops custom cloud-based business applications and resells leading ERP accounting software and other enterprise business software applications from Sage Software, Epicor, Sugar CRM, and other publishers. e2b calibration is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited calibration laboratory.

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By Jeanne Lee