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Blueprint to Advancing Your Construction Business: Selecting the Right ERP Technology

In the construction industry, technology software, particularly an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, is critical to support the operations, processes, and future growth of an organization. Selecting the right ERP for your business means improved project outcomes, enhanced operational efficiency, and a competitive advantage in a competitive marketplace.

The journey toward selecting the right ERP software, however, goes beyond a simple checklist of software features. Businesses need to align their core needs and strategic vision with the capabilities of the technology. Having led ERP selection, implementation, and optimization projects for the construction industry since 1996, our Tilson’s Construction Technology Consultants share the following tips to help guide the ERP selection process.

Key Factors to Consider Before Selecting an ERP

Before looking at available software programs, the first step when selecting an ERP is to perform a deep dive into your business’s unique requirements. This is a critical process that will determine the role technology needs to play throughout your organization.

• Review Business Needs: Analyze your current operations and map out existing workflows, identify inefficiencies, and set clear objectives for how you would like a new software system to meet these goals. This allows your organization to identify areas where technology can truly bring transformational change to both your present and future.
• Engaged Stakeholders: Do not make any decisions or assumptions before considering all stakeholders across the organization. Gathering collective input ensures that the technology selected addresses the comprehensive needs of the business, from frontline operations to executive decision making.
• Explore ERP Vendors: With business requirements and stakeholder input in hand, you can now explore the market for ERP solutions that cater to your construction needs. Remember that every ERP vendor is different even if they all say they will work for construction companies. It’s critical to keep your distinct construction needs at the forefront as you create a shortlist of ERP possibilities.

ERP Decision-Making Framework

With your shortlist of ERP vendor options from the previous steps, you’re ready to make a final decision using an evaluation framework that examines the following:

• Functional Compatibility: Assess each software solution against your documented needs and processes. The goal is to find the system that is as close to possible to your ideal.
• Futureproofing: The selected ERP should not only address the current needs of your business, but also have the capacity to grow with you. Consider the scalability of each system and how it will meet your vision for the future of your organization.
• Usability and Integration: Evaluate how user-friendly the technology is and understand what the learning curve will be for your teams. A steep learning curve can impede adoption and negate productivity gains. At the same time, evaluate the new software’s ability to integrate with any existing systems to ease the transition and ensure continuity of operations.
• Support and Community: The amount of vendor support available from ERP vendors, such as training, customer service, and a user community, can significantly impact the long-term success of the software implementation.

ERP Selection Support

The selection of an ERP system is incredibly important and shouldn’t be taken lightly; the right ERP can mean the difference between operational success and failure in the construction industry. By approaching the selection process in the holistic, collaborative, and strategic process defined above, you will find the ERP technology that streamlines your projects, boosts efficiency, provides a competitive edge, and scales for the continued growth of your company.

If you don’t want to make this important decision alone, talk with one of Tilson’s technology experts. Our consultants come from the construction industry and have worked in ENR Top 400 companies, giving us a unique advantage to provide actionable insights to advance your construction business. We understand the industry processes that matter to you and will serve as your partner from start to finish through selection, implementation, and optimization.