We guide companies in
selecting the right ERP package.
As an independent ERP consultant we guide you through comparing and selecting the right ERP package. Tailored ERP advice, with no vendor ties. Analysis first, so you can approach software vendors well-prepared.
ERP selection is one of the core assignments of SEMANU as an independent software advisory firm for SMBs.
- No vendor ties · No commissions
- Mutual NDA before every conversation
- Reply within 1 business day
One system for sales, inventory and production
What glides past here is not a collection of separate tools but one system that moves with your entire company.
- Sales enters an order and the warehouse instantly sees what has to leave.
- Inventory and purchasing steer themselves on live figures instead of gut feeling.
- Production, planning and hours worked flow straight through to costing and invoicing.
- CRM keeps customers and quotes linked to orders, deliveries and payments.
Which system should do this for your company? The analysis decides that, not the demo.
From process analysis to acceptance
One method, seven steps. As an independent ERP consultant we make sure you choose on facts, not on the slickest demo.
Workshops and interviews
In workshops and interviews with the people who work with it every day, we surface how your processes really run. Not the org chart but the shop floor shapes the picture.
Process analysis
We map your current processes, systems and exceptions and determine what has to change before, during and after the implementation.
Specification document
All findings translated into structured functional and non-functional requirements every vendor can quote against on comparable terms.
Validation
We test the document with your team until every department recognises itself in it. Only then does it go to the market.
Acceptance criteria
For each implementation phase we define what done means, so you do not depend on your vendor's definition.
Vendor selection
Comparing ERP systems objectively on process fit, total cost of ownership and implementation risk: steered demos, reference calls and weighted scoring with no preferred vendor.
Project oversight
After the contract is signed we safeguard scope, planning and quality through go-live, so what was agreed gets delivered.
Where ERP projects go wrong
Choosing on the demo
Selecting on demos instead of on process fit.
The vendor defines success
Letting the chosen vendor define what success means.
Change management underestimated
Underestimating change management until adoption stalls.
No defined processes
Starting without defined processes, leaving the vendor to fill them in during the project.
An ERP replacement that paid for itself
A mid-sized food producer was preparing to replace a 15-year-old ERP. In eight weeks we wrote the complete Blueprint: process maps for 7 departments, 132 weighted functional requirements, an integration map for 9 satellite systems and a phased go-live plan. Result: vendor selection completed in half the expected time. The implementation contract came in €65,000 below the original quote, because the specification was clear enough to negotiate firm pricing.
"SEMANU asked the questions our intended vendor never would have. Two of those questions changed the contract before we signed. The Blueprint paid for itself the day we negotiated."
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SEMANU is an independent software advisory firm for SMBs: we sell no software and receive no vendor commissions. Read how we work as an independent software advisory firm.
Frequently asked questions about ERP selection
What does an ERP selection project at SEMANU cost?
It depends on the number of processes, departments and integrations we map. You get an indication in the scope call, before anything is fixed. Always weigh that investment against the total cost of the ERP itself over five years: a selection mistake typically costs a multiple of the advice.
How long does an ERP selection take?
Count on six to twelve weeks from first call to signed contract, depending on scope and how fast your organisation decides. The analysis and the requirements document take the largest share; the vendor comparison then moves quickly because everyone quotes against the same document.
Why an independent party instead of the ERP vendor?
A vendor analyses your processes through the lens of its own package: what its software does well becomes a requirement, what it cannot do becomes a detail. We sell no software and receive no commissions, so the requirements come from your business rather than from a product brochure.
Which ERP packages do you look at?
Every package that fits your requirements, from SMB solutions such as Odoo, Exact and Visma to enterprise systems such as Dynamics 365 and SAP. The shortlist follows from your requirements, not from a partner list: we have no commercial ties with any vendor.
What if we are already talking to a vendor?
Then a counter-check is often the most valuable step. We test the quote and the demo against what your business actually needs, expose the assumptions and make the five-year cost visible. If the vendor turns out to be the right choice, you sign with more certainty and sharper terms.
Do you also guide the implementation?
The implementation itself sits with your vendor or implementation partner. We do guard scope, planning, quality and acceptance criteria during the project, so that what you agreed in the selection is actually delivered.
Who owns your ERP data and who carries the risk of extra work?
You do, provided the contract says so. In practice the database often runs at the implementation partner and only they hold the admin password. You find that out the day you want to switch or bring in a second party. So before anyone signs we put three things in writing: the data stay yours and can be exported in a readable format on first request, you have your own admin access to the environment and the source code of any custom work is handed over to you or placed in escrow. Extra work follows the same principle: not one hour without written approval beforehand. A Dutch court ruled at the end of 2025 that a professional IT vendor has to keep control of the project and cannot simply bill unapproved extra work. That clause up front is cheaper than that ruling afterwards.