Software selection rethought

The market is changing rapidly, away from large on-premise installations to lean and flexible cloud solutions. In the German-speaking region alone, there are more than 500 different solutions on the market in the ERP environment.

Companies looking for modern software tailored to their own needs quickly realize how complex and time-consuming the selection process is. An objective comparison is very difficult, as the individual providers focus on their strengths without addressing the needs of the customer. What is often important is whether all localization requirements are covered in the international environment. 

A neutral comparison of the solutions on offer is hardly possible and extremely time-consuming. This is often not feasible for IT management or for those responsible in addition to their day-to-day business. Fundamental questions can lead to lengthy discussions before process topics are even illuminated, such as:

• Cloud or on-premise solution?
• Buy, rent or lease?
• Economic stability of the manufacturer?
• Degree of innovation of the provider?

Taking all these factors into account individually can quickly overwhelm one's own organization. For this reason, we at Just 4 People have focused on selection consulting, among other things. We support our customers in finding a modern solution that fits their requirements and the right partner for the implementation of the software.

What makes us different from other selection consultancies?

We do not have generally valid requirement catalogs with 10,000 lines, but develop an individual catalog from our proven and industry-specific templates, with the 300 lines relevant for our customer in each case. After the selection, we are still there for our customers and, if required, also accompany the implementation as a quality assurance measure as well as during further project phases, optimizations or roll-outs of the solution.

How do we proceed with a selection?

In addition to the core processes, we focus on topics such as workflows, forms, interfaces, data transfers and evaluations, as these become the effort driver in many implementations. 

Based on our templates, we develop a catalog of must-have and can-do criteria with the relevant contacts from the specialist departments, IT, and management. In doing so, we focus very strongly on the critical core processes that can be described as unique selling points and absolutely must be mapped in a new solution. The goal is to identify a solution that already offers the greatest possible coverage of the requirements with standard functionalities.  

With an understanding of the requirements from the business units, we translate these into a suitable requirements catalog. We compare this with the current market and approach the relevant providers.

For the provider presentations, we provide our customers with tried-and-tested catalogs of criteria for neutral and realistic evaluation of the providers, in order to create the greatest possible comparability here.

Beyond the pure selection, we support our customers, if required, in the further steps up to the conclusion of the contract; our many years of expertise in contract design and license consulting help here. An important building block for the best possible result is our large network, which reaches into all levels of the different providers.

When drafting the contract, the clarification of services and duties to cooperate in detail is relevant. On the basis of RACI or RASCI matrices, which are also an integral part of the contract, it is clearly defined in advance who is responsible for which topics or who must be supported or informed. Maximum care and precision in this definition make successful implementation more likely. 

If we continue to accompany the project in the implementation phase, our experience from numerous national and international ERP implementations comes into play. We know what can go wrong in such projects and ensure that our customers do not have to go through this experience. 

Why are we at Just 4 People the right partner? 

With 25 years of ERP and SAP expertise, we bring extensive knowledge of the market and are vendor-neutral. This means that we focus on the requirements and concentrate on the core processes of our customer. But probably the most important point is our neutrality, because we do not receive commission or any other remuneration from any software vendor for our consulting services. We are paid by our customers for a neutral selection. This puts us in a strong negotiating position vis-à-vis the vendors throughout the selection process and in the contract negotiation phase.

What do our customers say about our approach?

At Phytec Messtechnik GmbH, we selected an ERP provider from eight suppliers in a three-stage selection process with a beauty contest and also played a key role in the contract negotiations. We are currently supporting the implementation project as quality assurance and process consultants.

Bodo Huber, Managing Director of Phytec Messtechnik GmbH: "Thanks to the support and great technical expertise that Just 4 People brought to the table, we were able to complete the selection process in just over three months. The cooperation was extremely professional and characterized by great mutual trust."

The OBE GmbH & Co. KG and the associated MIM plus Technologies GmbH & Co. KG are an internationally operating family business with headquarters in Ispringen in the northern Black Forest. They are among the world's leading manufacturers of components for the eyewear industry. Here we accompanied the ERP selection for several companies and production sites and supported the contract and license negotiations.

Peter Specht, Managing Director of OBE GmbH & Co. KG: "By working with J4P, we were able to specify our requirements for a future ERP system. J4P's expertise, customized approach and experience paved the way for us to make the right decision."