In a background of economic uncertainty, and raid expansion it is as importnat to chosoe the right parter as it is to choose the right solution. Panorama Consulting recently advised about the need to ensure erp vendor viability:
Infor recently acquired Lawson, Epicor and Activant were acquired as part of a private equity buyout, and JD Edwards and PeopleSoft were both acquired by Oracle several years ago. Some of the leading ERP vendors, including Oracle, Infor, and SAP, have been extremely aggressive in acquiring other ERP software solutions, as well as best of breed points solutions, to augment their core solution offerings. With each of these acquisitions comes uncertainty – will the new parent company continue providing maintenance and support? Will it invest in future enhancements? Or will it force a costly and risky migration to another product?
Similarly a CEO, CFO, or CIO concerned with business risk shoul validate the viability of their local implementation partner.
- How long have they been in business.
- Do they have on the ground presence with adequate depth and breadth of skills.
- Is there evidence that they invest in the necessary infrastructure and staff training?
Some simple checks:
- Whan was the comapny first registered?
- Is the company registered with the Chamber of Commerce?
- Visit their office – does the size seem adequate for the supposed staff size? od they have adequate training facilities?
- Do they use a formal helpdesk system?
- Do the consultants have a National id card and Labour card?
- When did they first become a certifed partner for the software?
- Do they have certified Consultants, Trainers, and Project Managers?
- Do they struggle to offer reference sites? is there evidence that a customer has used their services for many years?
- Can they provide bank references ?
- Do they have supporting networking and DBA, and interfacing skils?
- Does the managment team seem to understand the product and your vertical? What is their length of service and credibility?
- Do they have international alliance for international project support?
- Have they ever undertaken successful projects of this size, and duration?. Do they have the scaleability to take this on? Support staff, Project managers, Lead consultants, Qa staff, Test systems etc.
Such simple questions are prudent to consider – these may not guarantee the very best partner but they will help ensure they are competent and that you avoid the worst!
