ERP Product Selection
Having substantial experience of a wide variety of software products from both a customer and supplier perspective we can help guide you to making the right decisions for your organisation by supporting your ERP product selection process.
Our consultants have all come from the ‘real world’ having been business managers before moving to the dark side of consultancy most have been through their own ERP product selection process before and not all were Dynamics 365.
Obviously we have Microsoft D365 specialisations within our organisation but having decades long history of delivering ERP we have accumulated expertise beneficial to businesses that lets face it – do not specialise in reviewing ERP solutions.
Advisory services are a significant part of our business, whereas your expertise may be manufacturing or distribution ours is ERP, so doesn’t it make sense to seek the services of professionals especially since this is in effect a heart transplant for your business?
Practice Does Make Perfect
Upgrading your ERP business system is not an everyday occurrence, so unsurprisingly many organisations have limited experience in the preparation and effort involved in changing what is central to your business operations. Similar to any major operation there’s sense in having someone present who has done this before, not many would opt for a novice with something so business critical.
Our consultants have overseen the selection of business software before becoming consultants themselves, many several times over. AX Software have a small dedicated bi-partisan team who specialise in a selection and support role, it could be any software product or helping make that choice between Microsoft Partners or best fit Dynamics product. They will also ensure that you are fully prepared, going into a pre-sales environment without thorough preparation is a recipe not necessary for disaster but certainly disappointment and likely unnecessary expense.
We will even help you with that all important contract ensuring that your business interests are best protected in what is a very complicated decision making process that most companies only encounter once in a decade.
Its always easier to start off in the right direction rather than try correct a poorly initiated project further down the line and here is where we at AX Software can help.
We can confidently state that at every stage from the requirements gathering to shortlist and software selection right through to the implementation and deployment we have something to offer businesses and organisations be they SME’s or large multi-nationals – all whilst speaking in plain language and been straight to the point and true to our values.
Making The Right Choice
ERP product selection is a complex undertaking, there are a lot of factors to consider and you should not be overly influenced by a slick and personable sales team, often once signed up that’s the last you may see of them.
Obviously product fit should be high up on the list that’s assuming your list is comprehensive but so are many other factors a couple of which we discuss below.
ERP Product Acquisition
During the noughties after the boom in ERP sales associated with the millennium bug, you would have seen a lot more ERP products available on the market place. Many independent software houses had benefitted from heathy sales from this period and as companies typically change their ERP solutions between 5-10 years (more 10+ for SMEs) selling up was the right choice in order to capitalise on their values at that time.
This saw a rapid contraction in choice which was also driven by the cost of redeveloping older systems that had become technologically obsolete, these costs and false starts led to a further decline in the number of ERP products available.
The ERP market has become dominated by businesses with deep pockets, AI is driving this trend even faster so the question has to be asked what will become of those ERP products that are not owned by the major software companies in the next 5 years or so?
Partner Acquisition
When Microsoft steeped into the world of ERP with their acquisitions of Navision and Damgaard’s Axapta , they were very active in acquiring new Microsoft Resellers. AX Sotware became an early Axapta reseller but within a few years there were a multitude of small resellers offering the same solutions. This no doubt helped drive growth and as the product particularly AX as it was then known, benefitted from Microsoft investment, large consultancy firms came into the market.
This has seen another period of busy acquisitions as Microsoft partners have realised their 5 year plans and sold up to those larger companies that continue to show growth through acquisition.
For D365 users who may have purchased from a boutique Dynamics reseller only to have them become acquired by a larger corporation the change might not be too drastic but users should be aware that as businesses scale up generally so do their charge cards, what might have been a £850 per day consultancy rate could develop into a £1200 next time support discussions take place.
AX Sotware
AXSoftware have been here since 2006, with in-depth ERP knowledge we can offer business our support from the very start getting everything as right as it can be, helping you navigate through these selection choices – we know how this industry works which is why we are still around today.
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