This is the beginning of a series reviewing some of the typical tactics and sales scams many software vendors use to gain your business. This way, you can create a selection process that filters out such vendors.
Rather than competing on merit, many vendors resort to various strategies or techniques that prevent you from gaining the critical insight you need to make the best possible decision. Their strategies and tactics deflect you from discovering any of their weaknesses, or even deceive you into believing they have qualifications that do not exist (see the previous post, Scams, Shams, ERP System Integrator Tactics).
You Have Determined You Need an SAP or ERP System
After you have done initial analysis and some internal due diligence, you may realize all those Excel spreadsheets, Access databases, and home-grown, patched together, exploding data sets are scattered everywhere. The landscape of data sources resembles more of a war zone rather than a well-rehearsed symphony orchestra.
Senior management and executives continuously ask for information and reports that take days or sometimes even weeks to gather from too many sources. The “answers” you receive from the data never seem to be the same, no matter how many times you redo the process. To resolve this issue, you must look at SAP and the implementation vendor.
Now You Start the Selection Process
Even though using a structured business software vendor evaluation and selection methodology may seem elementary, too many companies still do not follow one. Some companies get overly complicated in how they select their vendors (using more of a software selection methodology) when what really matters is the consultants and project team responsible for the results. One of the ERP critical success factors is to focus on what matters to you and your company’s project:
- FIXING Stupid SAP Vendor – Partner Selection RFI – RFP Processes
- More on Stupid SAP Vendor – Partner Selection RFI-RFP Processes
- Why SAP Vendor – Partner Selection RFI Processes are Stupid
Often, the selection process has many gaps that can be manipulated, or you may fall prey to sales tactics that are designed to manipulate the person rather than dealing with the requirements. When that happens, the company making the investment suffers from poor results, serious cost overruns, blown timelines, and damaging shockwaves to their company culture.
Understanding the Stages of the Selection Process, and How to Deal with Each Stage
The selection overview consists of a few steps. They are not hard to understand, but they can be tedious. I have outlined them as follows:
- First Things First (Governance and Control)
- Early in the Sales Cycle – Software sales and System Integrators
- Progress on the SAP or ERP Software and Vendor Selection
- Deep Into the SAP or ERP Sales Cycle
- ERP Software and Integration Vendor Tactics
- Site Visit or Phone Visit to Verify ERP Vendor claims
- The Finals
Over the next several weeks, we will explore a series of posts based on each of these topics. These topics are from part of a business software and vendor or system integrator selection methodology I have used in RFI and RFP consulting. The approach I use addresses areas and solutions that very few (if any) of the RFI and RFP consultants ever address. At the end of the day, my goal is to see you make the best possible selection to propel your business forward. Because of my passion to see businesses succeed with their large implementation projects, I am making this information freely available.
Stay tuned next week for the first part of this detailed series. We will look at “First Things First” in preparing for and initiating your software or implementation vendor selection.
