Considering an ERP Implementation

Key players and considerations

Enterprise resource planning, or ERP, as defined by Gartner, is “the ability to deliver an integrated suite of business applications sharing a common process and data model covering broad and deep operational end-to-end processes.” ¹  The ERP software market continues to be big business and is forecast to grow to around 101 billion U.S. dollars by 2026. ²  The landscape for ERP software is evolving at an increasingly rapid rate, in common with technology and software in other sectors. While many of the same companies are involved, since ERP entered the mainstream business world, the software, products, and offerings are continually changing and improving to meet market demands.

Technology trends reshaping the ERP landscape include the continued migration to the cloud, the widespread adoption of SaaS (Software as a Service) offerings, and the development of industry-specific solutions or configurable starter kits that allow businesses to deploy tailored ERP systems quickly. The use of in-memory databases has also expanded, providing faster data processing and real-time analytics, which are becoming increasingly critical for decision-making in modern businesses.

Despite these technological advancements, many common ERP challenges persist, including long implementation timelines, extended periods before realizing ROI, and complexities associated with upgrading or transitioning to new systems. Additionally, integrating ERP with other emerging technologies like AI, IoT, and blockchain adds layers of complexity that businesses must navigate to fully leverage these systems.

Before you choose your ERP software, consider many factors, such as business and technology requirements, cost vs. benefits analysis, your current technology landscape and data architecture, current organization, and third-party partners or providers. Do not choose your software solely based on your company size or industry analysis or by relying on the largest products in the market.

Liberty Advisor Group has a strong track record of assisting clients in understanding required business capabilities to meet their business strategies and goals, analyzing potential solutions, and helping them choose the right software for their business. Talk to us.

Major ERP software providers

The ERP software landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with a wide range of providers offering solutions across various industries and business sizes. Below is a list of the major ERP players, roughly ranked by market presence and adoption. This overview is not intended as a quality or feature-based ranking and should not be used as the sole criteria for selecting ERP software:

• SAP: SAP remains a dominant force in the ERP space, continuing its transition to cloud-based offerings with SAP S/4HANA, available both in the cloud and on-premises. SAP’s portfolio also includes SAP Cloud ERP and SAP Business ByDesign, catering to small- and mid-sized enterprises. SAP’s legacy systems, ECC 6.0 and R/3, still have a significant user base.
• Oracle: Oracle continues to lead the ERP market with Oracle ERP Cloud and Oracle Fusion, integrating its robust database and infrastructure capabilities. Oracle E-Business Suite remains available as an on-premises option, with legacy systems like PeopleSoft still widely used in many organizations.
• Oracle NetSuite: Since its acquisition in 2016, NetSuite has solidified Oracle’s presence in the mid-market segment. As a cloud-only solution, NetSuite offers industry-specific ERP solutions with rapid implementation capabilities, particularly favored by growing businesses.
• Oracle JD Edwards: JD Edwards, acquired by Oracle in 2005, continues to serve mid-market companies with its EnterpriseOne solution, available in both cloud and on-premises formats. JD Edwards World remains a legacy product still in use by some organizations.
• Workday: Founded by former PeopleSoft executives, Workday specializes in cloud-based ERP solutions focused primarily on finance and human capital management (HCM). Although Workday lacks native manufacturing capabilities, it remains a popular choice for finance and HR departments.
• Infor: Infor has been enhancing its cloud offerings, particularly through its CloudSuite product line, which provides industry-specific solutions. Infor also offers LN and M3 for both cloud and on-premises deployments. The company continues to support legacy products like BAAN, serving a wide range of industries.
• Microsoft Dynamics: Microsoft’s ERP offerings, Dynamics 365 and Dynamics AX, provide finance and CRM solutions, available both in the cloud and on-premises. While manufacturing capabilities are limited, Microsoft continues to innovate within the ERP space, leveraging its Azure cloud infrastructure. Legacy products like Dynamics GP still maintain a user base.
• Sage: Sage continues to cater to small- and mid-sized businesses with its suite of ERP solutions, including Sage Intacct, 300cloud, 100cloud, and 50cloud. Sage’s Enterprise Management, available in both cloud and on-premises environments, remains a key offering for its customers.
• Epicor: Targeting small- to mid-sized businesses, Epicor offers industry-specific ERP solutions, with Epicor ERP Cloud leading its cloud offerings. The company also provides an extensive range of on-premises solutions, including Prophet 21, Eclipse, and CMS, making it a versatile choice for various industries.

There are many other smaller, niche products in the marketplace, including FinancialForce, Plex, Ramco Systems, Unit4, Acumatica, IFS AB, SYSPRO, IQMS, QAD, QAD MFG/PRO, Lawson, ERPNext, Odoo, FeneVision.

Other types of partners to keep in mind

In addition to software providers, the following partners and providers should be considered when staffing a program:

• Systems Integrators
• Development Shops
• Independent Third-Party Contractors
• Delivery Assurance or Program Management
• Data Governance and Conversion
• Enterprise or Solution Architecture
• Change Management or Assurance

These services and offerings are available at the big consultancies, but there are also boutique and niche players with strong offerings.

Liberty can operate in many of the above partner and provider roles, offering independent advice on how to appropriately staff each step of your specific ERP journey. Find out more about our ERP Transformation Services. 

Derisking implementation

Before selecting your ERP software and embarking on a potentially multi-year journey, there is much pre-work that can de-risk your implementation, including:

1. Empower a singular, dynamic, business leader with the ability to drive and lead the full program.
2. Establish a governance organization with current and future leaders of your business and IT teams.
3. Develop and sign-off on an economic model or business case – and use this throughout the project to make scope or timeline decisions.
4. Staff the program team with your best business and IT employees, and backfill as necessary. Top-quality players are essential to building a top-quality platform.
5. Document current business processes, and use these to establish your gap/fit requirements and design and build scope.
6. Start to consolidate, cleanse, and de-duplicate key master data and transactional data elements. Data cleansing and loading is often the longest-duration activity to get to go-live.
7. Document your current technology landscape, and use this to design and implement your current-, interim-, and future-state architectures throughout the full implementation and deployments.
8. Lock and memorize your project charter and blueprint documents before starting to design and build. Costs go up sharply after you bring on a systems integrator or third-party team to start design and build.
9. Implement change assurance and enterprise architecture functions early on. These supporting functions are many times undervalued and understaffed, but can derail a program just as fast as other program functions.

Be sure to read our Avoiding a Game of ERP Roulette white paper to dive deeper into the risks and rewards of an ERP journey, and how you can de-risk the journey.

If you are considering an ERP initiative, are already involved in one and need guidance, or have implemented an ERP solution that is not meeting your business needs, please reach out to Liberty. We are here to help you in every ERP situation – with experience executing ERP projects across the full implementation lifecycle from initial visioning and blueprinting to project rescue – and have worked with every major ERP software suite in the industry.

To learn more about our ERP implementation expertise, click here.

About Liberty Advisor Group

Liberty Advisor Group is a goal-oriented, client-focused and results-driven consulting firm. We area lean, hand-picked team of strategists, technologists and entrepreneurs – battle-tested experts with a steadfast, start-up attitude. A team with an average experience of 20+ years, that has delivered over $1 billion in operating income improvement and over 300 M&A deals for our clients: Liberty has a proven track record in Business and Technology Strategy, Transformation and Assurance, Data Analytics, Business Threat Intelligence, and Mergers and Acquisitions. We collaborate, integrate and ideate in real-time with our clients to deliver situation-specific solutions that work.

¹ http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/enterprise-resource-planning-erp/

² https://www.statista.com/statistics/605888/worldwide-enterprise-resource-planning-market-forecast/