If you are looking for an ERP system, the large range of software on the market can quickly overwhelm you. There are around 400 medium-sized ERP service providers in Germany. How on earth are you supposed to find the system that best suits your company?
The ERP workshop is a crucial part of the selection process. During this appointment, you gain a realistic impression of the system’s functionality and can really get to grips with the provider. Read this article to find out exactly what you can expect in the workshop and why thorough preparation is essential.
What is an ERP workshop?
An ERP system is a complex business software that is closely linked to all important business processes. Choosing the right ERP solution is therefore extremely individual.
The key question is whether the software supports the specific processes of your company – today and in the future. To find this out, Internet research alone is obviously not enough. Rather, a multi-stage ERP selection process is required in which there is a direct exchange between your project team and the provider.
The ERP workshop is the heart of the ERP selection process. As soon as you have drawn up a shortlist of the most promising ERP providers, you deal with each potential partner in detail.
ERP workshops are not simply sales presentations, but tailor-made consultations. They are specifically about your company: Your processes, your data, your requirements, your way of working.
Important topics of the ERP workshop are:
- Comparison of functional and procedural requirements
- Identification of necessary adjustments to the system
- Live presentation of typical core processes
- Assessment of user-friendliness and acceptance by key users
- Clarification of technical aspects
- Discussion of strategic requirements
- First insights into project approach and implementation
What are the goals of a successful ERP workshop?
1. create knowledge
You gain clarity as to whether the system adequately maps your processes and where adjustments are necessary.
2. prioritize
In the ERP workshop, your wishes and actual needs are compared to create a realistic basis. This allows you to recognize which functions are really important for your company.
3. clarify the scope of the project
By defining the effort, time frame and stakeholder roles, the planning becomes more concrete.
4. evaluate ERP provider
An ERP workshop also serves to put the technical depth and cooperation with the provider to the test.
5. make a decision
At the end, the meeting provides a solid basis for the final ERP provider selection. By initiating several workshops, you can compare different ERP providers with each other.
Why is a workshop so important for ERP system selection?
Nobody likes to buy the proverbial pig in a poke. Especially not when large investments are involved. This is no different in the selection phase of an ERP system: you can only avoid nasty surprises if you take a close look at the provider and software before you buy. An ERP system workshop offers you the right framework for this.
“The ERP workshop shows whether the software and provider team really suit your company.” – Daniel Ummenhofer
Daniel Ummenhofer, Asseco Solutions
The ERP workshop shows whether the software and the provider team really suit your company.
Instead of relying on a general ERP vendor presentation, the appointment allows you to reliably evaluate the ERP system based on real requirements. Together with the provider, your project team uses selected sample processes to check how well the functionality fits.
The provider shows you,
- how typical processes are implemented in the software,
- how flexibly the system responds to your individual requirements and
- how the solution covers your existing and future business processes – including new business models if necessary – in a meaningful and comprehensive way.
Such a workshop is therefore not just an ERP live demo, but active work at eye level. You also gain valuable insights into how the provider works. After all, it is not only the technical accuracy of fit that plays a role in ERP implementation. Interpersonal relationships are also very important. After all, an ERP project is always teamwork.
You should pay particular attention to the following aspects in the ERP workshop:
| Technical accuracy of fit | Human level |
| Does the ERP system reliably cover your processes? | Is the collaboration with the provider team a good fit? |
| How innovative is the system or the manufacturer? Is the product being further developed and does it provide new solutions? | Is the communication right? |
| Does the solution have the necessary interfaces? | Does the provider respond to your requirements? |
| Can the standard be used and extended without any problems? | Does trust develop? |
| How intuitive is the operation? | Do you develop solutions together? |
Only the interaction of these two pillars enables a well-founded decision to be made. After all, the best software is of little use if there is no harmony between the project teams.
Tip for the ERP workshop: Ask critical questions!
During the ERP workshop, don’t be afraid to put the provider and their offer through their paces. By asking specific questions, you will be able to identify potential pitfalls at an early stage and make a low-risk decision. In the end, this protects you from expensive adjustments, hidden costs and technical limitations.
The ERP provider should answer the following questions with confidence:
- What hidden dependencies arise – in terms of speed, pricing, service, in-house performance and expertise?
- Does the demo correspond to the actual scope of services – technically, functionally and in terms of licensing law?
- How reliably are the business model, further development, contract type and responsibilities of your ERP provider structured?
- Gain transparency about maintenance costs, adaptability of the license basis and price developments – even after purchase. How does the system handle updates with individual adaptations and how are these calculated? Are additional functions included in the maintenance?
- Are indirect use, international requirements and price changes regulated in a legally compliant and comprehensible manner in the long term?
- What makes the software a future-proof ERP solution with long-term added value? Ask about innovation strategies, release policy and technological progress.
The provider briefing: how to optimally prepare for the ERP workshop
Let’s be clear: In an ERP system selection workshop, the provider presents its ERP solution to you and addresses your individual requirements in detail. However, this only works if you provide your discussion partners with sufficient relevant information about your company in advance . It is therefore important that you brief the provider in detail before the actual workshop.
Some companies conduct such an ERP provider briefing exclusively with written documents. In our experience, however, this is not a good idea. Since the service provider cannot ask direct questions in response to written information, misunderstandings cannot be ruled out. This reduces your chances of a tailor-made ERP workshop.
You are much better advised to meet in person at your company. In a direct conversation, you can explain your situation precisely and answer questions immediately. The management and project management as well as the key users and the IT team of your company should attend the meeting.
The following points are on the agenda for a well-organized briefing:
1st round of introductions and company presentation
Trusting cooperation is crucial for the success of an ERP workshop. For this reason, it is best to start the supplier briefing by getting to know each other. This makes it easier for everyone involved to communicate openly with each other later on. After the introductory round, give the provider an insight into your organization with a presentation lasting a maximum of 30 minutes.
But be careful: Many companies have internalized the positive external image so much that they only talk about their strengths in the presentation. Weaknesses and challenges are left out. Yet it is precisely the unresolved issues that are of particular interest to the ERP provider. So feel free to talk openly about your process-related problems and your previous approaches to solving them.
2nd company tour
An honest exchange during a company tour works even better. You can easily conceal weaknesses in a well-prepared presentation. However, when you take a look around your premises, your conversation partners will inevitably come into contact with your actual processes. And this has already revealed many a weakness.
In addition, a tour of the company gives you the opportunity to make a little small talk. These casual conversations are worth their weight in gold when it comes to assessing the interpersonal level at an early stage. You may already notice that the chemistry is simply not right. Or that the provider’s industry knowledge leaves a lot to be desired. In this case, you should think carefully about whether you really want to keep this ERP provider on your shortlist.
3. description of example processes
For an ERP workshop to bring the desired gain in knowledge, you need to select the right sample processes. After all, you can only assess how well the software suits you based on your own processes.
Three factors are important here:
- Concise description
Formulate the processes as clearly as possible. Instead of pages of documentation, short, precise processes that reflect the core of the activity are sufficient. - Relevant sample data
Provide sample data that exactly matches your processes. This is the only way the provider can tailor the ERP workshop exactly to your needs. - Appropriate amount of data
Keep the sample data manageable. In line with the principle of “less is more”, avoid drowning the presentation in details. In practice, four to eight processes are usually sufficient.
Practical example: Order entry with growing parts list
A meaningful test case in the ERP workshop is order entry with a parts list that expands as it progresses. This process is commonplace in many manufacturing companies and quickly shows whether a system offers the necessary flexibility.
Typical questions to the provider are:
Create new order
- How is a customer order recorded in the system?
- Which mandatory fields must be filled in?
- How intuitive is the operation?
Extend parts list
- Can additional items or assemblies be added to the parts list during the ongoing process?
- How quickly do changes become visible?
Map variants and changes
- Can the system map variants without having to create a completely new parts list?
- What does this look like in terms of different sizes and designs?
Automatic calculation
- Are prices, costs and margins automatically updated as soon as items in the bill of materials change?
Check further processing
- How does the data flow downstream into other areas, such as production planning or purchasing?
This mixture of standard functions (order entry) and special cases (changes, variants) quickly shows whether the ERP system can really keep up in practice.
Conclusion: An ERP workshop separates the wheat from the chaff
An ERP workshop is much more than a simple software presentation. It is an individually designed meeting in which you can critically examine the software – based on your company-specific data and processes. This is where you find out whether the ERP system and the provider team really suit your company. And which solution you should ultimately choose.
Therefore, do not take the appointment lightly, but prepare yourself and the provider carefully for the ERP workshop. The best way to do this is with a personal provider briefing on your premises. This will quickly show whether the ERP system can really keep up in practice.
