Choosing new manufacturing ERP software that includes great general ledger, accounts payable, cash management, etc., is fairly easy. Decision makers should look for features like easy inter-company transactions perhaps for a complicated process, great reporting and drill-down capabilities. The manufacturer has a much greater challenge. In the last 20 years I have been selling manufacturing solutions and nine times out of ten, the business leaders are not concerned with how the GL or any of the financial modules work. They ask if the software has financial modules and do they work. Often our demonstrations end with financials, or we schedule them for another day, since really what the prospect wants to see is how the software will handle their manufacturing operations.

I came across this whitepaper by Nick Castellina, the VP and Research Group Director at the Aberdeen Group and thought I would share some of the results of a survey focused on manufacturing leaders: What do Manufacturers Look For in an ERP Solution? I have been following Nick’s work for a long time. He provides insightful information for the manufacturing and distribution industries. Read more