ERP is the software that you use to manage your business, integrating applications that manage and integrate your financials, supply chain, operations, reporting, manufacturing and human resource activities.
If you’re reading this article, you are feeling the pain of your existing ERP system not being able to keep up with growth and customer needs.
Before you even get started identifying a new ERP software provider for your business, make sure you’ve done a deep dive and know where your organization’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system capabilities stand today. Examine the current customer experience. Take insights into consideration – do your teams operate in silos?
Detail requirements for core business processes, including financial management, inventory and warehouse management and more. Make sure reporting and data analytics needs are clear. And understand the valuable time workarounds have taken from your team, which should help you understand where opportunities for greater efficiencies lie.
If you’ve analyzed your current state and have identified gaps in existing technology and processes, congratulations. You have done the hard work.
It’s time to look to the future. Here are the next three steps to help you narrow down your list of potential modern ERP solutions and providers.
Step 1 – Define Your Priorities for a Modern ERP
Before evaluating ERP options, it’s important to get clear on what your business actually needs today—and where you want it to go.
ERP decisions are no longer just about replacing an aging system. They’re about choosing a platform that can support growth, adapt to change, and give your teams the visibility they need to make better decisions.
Start by building a prioritized list of requirements based on your current challenges, future goals, and opportunities for improvement. The more specific you can be, the easier it becomes to evaluate solutions with confidence.
Here are key areas to focus on:
Cloud ERP (The New Standard)
For most organizations, the conversation is no longer if you should move to the cloud—it’s how to do it in a way that supports your business.
A cloud-based ERP gives you:
- Anywhere, anytime access for distributed teams
- Built-in security, backups, and disaster recovery
- Automatic updates—no more version lag or upgrade cycles
- Easier integration with other systems and tools
More importantly, it frees your team from managing infrastructure so they can focus on using the system, not maintaining it.
If you're still running on-premises ERP, you’re likely experiencing:
- Increasing maintenance costs
- Limited flexibility
- Greater risk from downtime or security gaps
A modern ERP evaluation should assume a cloud-first approach, and focus on how that environment supports your operations, not just your infrastructure.
Financial Management
At its core, ERP should give finance teams confidence in the numbers and the ability to act on them.
As you evaluate options, consider:
- Real-time visibility into cash flow, transactions, and budgets
- Support for multi-entity and multi-currency operations
- Built-in compliance and audit tracking
- Automation of recurring financial processes
Today’s expectation isn’t just accurate reporting, it’s real-time financial insight that helps you respond quickly and plan ahead.
Customer Experience
Your ERP plays a bigger role in customer experience than ever before.
Think beyond order entry and invoicing, and consider:
- End-to-end visibility from order to delivery
- Integration with ecommerce platforms and customer portals
- Real-time status updates for customers and internal teams
- Self-service capabilities and digital experiences
Customers expect transparency and responsiveness. Your ERP should help you deliver both.
Productivity & Operational Efficiency
Modern ERP systems should reduce friction across your organization—not add to it.
Look for opportunities to:
- Automate manual processes across finance, operations, and inventory
- Reduce duplicate data entry and disconnected workflows
- Improve supply chain visibility and responsiveness
- Give teams access to the right information at the right time
For example:
- Operations teams should be able to see inventory levels, purchase orders, and fulfillment status in one place
- Sales teams should have insight into customer behavior and product availability
- Finance teams should spend less time reconciling data and more time analyzing it
The goal isn’t just efficiency—it’s better focus and faster decision-making across the business.
Business Intelligence & Decision-Making
One of the biggest shifts in ERP today is the expectation of built-in visibility.
Instead of relying on static reports, modern ERP systems should provide:
- Real-time dashboards across departments
- Drill-down capabilities into transactions and trends
- Integration with tools like Power BI for deeper analysis
Your ERP should serve as a single source of truth, helping leaders and teams make decisions with confidence, without waiting on reports or reconciling multiple systems.
Integration & Connected Systems
Very few businesses operate in a single system and that’s not changing.
As you evaluate ERP solutions, consider:
- What systems need to connect (CRM, ecommerce, payroll, logistics, etc.)
- Whether integration is native or requires custom development
- How data flows across systems in real time
A modern ERP should act as the foundation of your business systems, not a silo you have to work around.
AI‑Enabled ERP (The Next Evolution)
This is one of the most important areas companies are starting to explore.
Today’s ERP systems (especially within the Microsoft ecosystem) are beginning to incorporate AI in meaningful, practical ways.
AI-enabled ERP can help:
- Automate routine tasks like data entry, reconciliations, and approvals
- Surface insights proactively instead of waiting for reports
- Forecast demand, cash flow, and operational trends
- Identify anomalies or risks before they become problems
More advanced approaches, like autonomous ERP, take this further by:
- Continuously analyzing business data
- Recommending actions in real time
- Supporting decision-making across departments
This doesn’t replace your team—it augments it, allowing people to focus on higher-value work while the system handles repetitive or data-heavy tasks.
When evaluating ERP solutions today, it’s worth asking:
- How does this system leverage AI today?
- How will those capabilities evolve over time?
- Does it integrate with tools like Copilot or advanced analytics platforms?
This is where ERP is headed and choosing a platform that supports it puts your business in a stronger position long term.
Learn More with the Autonomous ERP eBook:
Step 2 – Compare capabilities and set your budget for ERP.
What do you need, and what do you want?
Start with the cost of supporting and maintaining the system and then look for any hidden fees along the way.
Review and add the following details for systems and providers to your prioritized requirements list.
Is your ERP System requirement:
- included with the out of the box software?
- available with customization?
- available with integration to third-party software?
- going to be available in the future (and in what timeframe)?
- unavailable?
Look at ROI Through a Broader Lens
Of course, you’ll evaluate cost but ROI in ERP today is about more than just financial return.
Consider:
- Will this system improve decision-making across the business?
- Can you respond faster to market changes or customer needs?
- Will it reduce manual work and free your team to focus on higher-value activities?
- Does it position your business to scale or expand into new markets?
Also take a hard look at the hidden cost of your current system—aging ERP can quietly limit growth, create inefficiencies, and introduce unnecessary risk.
Step 3 – Ask Better Questions (The Ones That Actually Matter)
Selecting the right ERP solution doesn’t end at comparing features. It’s critical to ask better questions. The kinds of questions that uncover how a partner actually works, not just how they sell.
Most ERP providers are prepared to answer surface-level questions about cost, timelines, and functionality. But the real value comes from asking deeper questions—ones that help you understand how a partner will guide your business through change and support you long after go-live.
Talk to Your Peers (But Go Deeper)
Start by asking others in your industry what they’re using and why, but don’t stop there.
Instead of just asking “What system did you choose?”
Ask:
- How well did the implementation go?
- What would you do differently?
- How did your partner handle challenges along the way?
Peer insight is valuable, but it’s often the implementation experience—not just the software—that determines success.
Evaluate the Partner, Not Just the Product
Your choice of ERP partner can have as much impact as the system itself. The right partner helps you transform your business. The wrong one can create disruption, delay, and unnecessary costs.
During your evaluation, push beyond feature demos and ask questions like:
- What does your implementation process actually look like?
- How do you handle change management and user adoption?
- How often do your projects go over budget and why?
- What happens after go-live?
Great partners will welcome these questions and provide clear, honest answers. If they avoid them, that’s a signal worth paying attention to.
Involve Your Team Early and Often
ERP decisions shouldn’t happen in isolation.
Include key stakeholders across departments—finance, operations, sales, and IT—early in the process. Ask solution providers to walk through real scenarios with your team so they can see how the system will support their day-to-day work.
This does two important things:
- Ensures the system aligns with how your business actually operates
- Builds early buy-in, reducing resistance during implementation
Organizations that involve their teams upfront are significantly more prepared to manage change later.
Ask About Change, Not Just Technology
ERP implementation isn’t just a software project, it’s a business transformation.
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is assuming the partner will “handle everything.” In reality, successful projects require active participation across your organization.
Ask your partner:
- How will you help us prepare our team for change?
- What role will we need to play during implementation?
- How do you ensure employees have the time and support to succeed?
The best partners will help you set expectations clearly and create a plan that supports both the technology and the people using it.
Think Beyond Go-Live
A strong ERP partnership doesn’t end at implementation.
Ask:
- What does long-term support look like?
- How will we continue to optimize the system over time?
- How do you help clients adapt as their business grows or changes?
A trusted partner should be focused on helping you get value from your ERP long after the initial rollout.
Plan for What’s Next—Not Just What’s Now
Finally, make sure the system and partner can support your future—not just your current state.
Your ERP should be:
- Scalable as your business grows
- Flexible as processes evolve
- Capable of integrating new technologies over time
The companies seeing the most success today are thinking beyond replacement and focusing on how ERP can enable continuous improvement and long-term growth.
The best ERP decisions come from asking better questions—not just more of them.
When you take the time to challenge assumptions, involve your team, and evaluate the partner as carefully as the technology, you move from simply selecting a system… to choosing a platform—and a relationship—that will support your business for years to come.
Get the ebook "9 Questions Nobody Asks Their ERP Partner...But Should"
Every organization’s priorities are different—but one thing is consistent:
The best ERP decisions are grounded in a clear understanding of what your business needs today—and what it will need next.
The more intentional you are in defining your priorities upfront, the more confident you’ll be in choosing the right solution.
This article was originally published February 4, 2020. It has been updated for relevancy and accuracy.
