Picture this: You’ve spent months demoing ERP systems, negotiating contracts, and rallying your team—only to realize six months post-implementation that the vendor’s “seamless payroll integration” is anything but seamless. Now you’re stuck with a half-baked system, angry employees, and a CFO demanding answers.
Choosing an ERP vendor isn’t like picking a SaaS app. It’s a 10-year marriage—not a casual fling. The wrong choice can cost millions in downtime, rework, and lost productivity. To avoid buyer’s remorse, here are 10 non-negotiable questions to ask every ERP vendor before signing the dotted line.
1. “Can You Handle Our Industry’s Unique Requirements?”
Generic ERPs promise the moon but often fail industry-specific needs.
- Manufacturing: Ask about shop floor scheduling, WIP tracking, and compliance (e.g., ISO, FDA).
- Retail: Demand proof of inventory forecasting and multi-channel sales support.
Example: A dairy company learned the hard way when their ERP couldn’t track batch expiration dates, leading to $250K in wasted stock.
Follow-Up: “Show me how three similar clients use your system.”
2. “What’s Included in the Base Price vs. ‘Extras’?”
Vendors love burying costs in fine print. One hospital was quoted $200K upfront—then hit with $80K/year for “mandatory” security updates.
Ask For:
- A line-item breakdown of licensing, support, and training fees.
- Clarify if updates, integrations, or API access cost extra.
3. “How Do You Handle Data Migration?”
Data migration is the #1 cause of ERP delays. A logistics company lost six weeks because their vendor underestimated legacy data cleanup.
Key Questions:
- Do you provide migration tools or consultants?
- What’s the process for mapping old data to new fields?
Red Flag: “Don’t worry—it’s plug-and-play!” (Spoiler: It never is.)
4. “What’s Your Policy on Customizations?”
Some vendors charge $300/hour for tweaks; others lock you into rigid workflows.
Case Study: A bakery paid $50K to customize recipe scaling in their ERP—only to lose the changes during an update.
Ask:
- Are customizations preserved during upgrades?
- What’s the average cost/time for common tweaks?
5. “Can We Speak to Your Longest-Standing Client?”
References matter, but vendors will cherry-pick happy clients. Dig deeper:
- Request: A reference from a client using the system for 5+ years.
- Ask Them: “What’s the one thing you’d change about this vendor?”
Fun Fact: A construction firm discovered their vendor’s “24/7 support” didn’t include holidays—after a system crash on New Year’s Eve.
6. “What Happens If We Outgrow the System?”
Your ERP should scale as fast as your business. A tech startup outgrew their ERP in 18 months, forcing a $1.2M migration.
Ask:
- What’s the maximum user/data volume supported?
- Is upgrading to a higher tier seamless?
7. “How Do You Handle Security and Compliance?”
A breach in your ERP could mean lawsuits, fines, or bankruptcy.
Must-Ask:
- Is data encrypted at rest and in transit?
- Do you comply with GDPR, HIPAA, or CCPA (if applicable)?
Stat Alert: 68% of ERP users report security gaps post-implementation.
8. “What’s Your Average Response Time for Critical Issues?”
A food distributor once waited 72 hours for a vendor to fix a shipping module bug—costing them a key client.
Get It in Writing:
- SLA (Service Level Agreement) for critical vs. non-urgent tickets.
- Escalation paths for unresolved issues.
9. “How Often Do You Release Updates?”
Too few updates = stagnant features. Too many = unstable systems.
Ideal Answer:
- Quarterly updates with advance testing environments.
- Clear release notes and backward compatibility.
Avoid: Vendors who push untested “innovation” patches.
10. “What’s Your Exit Strategy If We Part Ways?”
Breaking up is hard to do. One retailer spent $140K to extract data from a proprietary ERP after switching vendors.
Ask:
- Can we export data in standard formats (CSV, SQL)?
- Is there a transition support period?
Final Tip: Test Drive with Real Scenarios
Before committing, run a mock workflow:
- Process a dummy order from start to finish.
- Generate a financial report.
- Simulate a system crash.
If the vendor hesitates, walk away.
