From the experience of our sales team and the chance to talk with organisations that are beginning to look for an ERP system and who reach out to ask for information,

as well as arranging for the team to come in and present the system, we have learned that every question from business owners usually comes from a worry they have previously experienced.

This article therefore gathers 5 popular questions! that we often encounter, to serve as a guide for those looking for an ERP system. The question topics about ERP systems are as follows:

Questions about price and cost
Questions about the flexibility of the system
Questions about the time it takes to implement the system
Questions about the service agreement
Questions about whether a demo is available to try

The details of each question are as follows

1. Questions about price and cost

A hundred out of a hundred can’t escape the topic of price. Some organisations that contact us usually ask about price first, perhaps to be sure about the budget, and to want a price that is economical and worthwhile — or perhaps they have set a budget and choose the ERP vendor whose quote matches the company’s budget.

On this point, we the authors recommend discussing and finalising the quotation, or arranging a system presentation to see the workflow, because a price that is too cheap often comes with the risk of an unsuccessful implementation,

resulting in money wasted for nothing. Choosing an ERP system requires looking at whether the price is reasonable and consistent with the system itself.

Arranging a system presentation is also a way to see whether the ERP system invited in genuinely meets the work needs or not, and then compare the budget again afterwards.

2. Questions about the flexibility of the system

Most organisations that ask about the flexibility of an ERP system are usually organisations that already have a system in use, but want to change to a new system with high flexibility.

High flexibility here means the system has standard functions, but if the customer wants to adapt the system to fit the organisation, it can be adjusted.

This is called Customization, because they may have previously encountered an ERP system that is rather limited in function and cannot be changed.

3. Questions about the time it takes to implement the system

Most organisations that contact us want to use the ERP system quickly, or perhaps because the company wants to change from a limited company to a public company,

so they need a system to help oversee things, so the company can operate efficiently and audit financial statements quickly.

Normally, if an organisation wants to install an ERP system it takes at least 30 days, which also depends on the vendor and the users’ ability to learn the system, as well as preparing the data to be loaded.

4. Questions about the service agreement

A service agreement (MA), or Maintenance Service Agreement, refers to IT-related care and maintenance services, which most ERP vendors usually charge a service agreement (MA) fee for,

because it concerns keeping the system up to date, maintaining the system or the functions related to the entire ERP system, as well as supporting the users.

Many organisations often have the question: if they do not pay the service agreement fee, can they still use the system continuously?

The answer is “you can use it as normal.”

Because the system itself — the work modules and the various programs — is a one-time sale. But if a user runs into a problem arising from not understanding the system, the vendor will not be able to take care of it, and there will be no system updates until the service agreement is renewed.

5. Questions about whether a demo is available to try

If it is a small system whose functions have no complicated details, a demo may be made available to try. But if it is a large ERP system, such as PlanetOne ERP, there is no demo available to try.

Because installing an ERP system is not just installing it and reading the manual; there must be training before use, because an ERP system works in a step-by-step interconnected way, and data must be entered to use for trial key-in as well.

From the article above, it can be seen that most of the 5 questions — whether about price, about the flexibility of the system, about the time it takes to implement the system, about the service agreement, and about whether there is a demo —

are all questions about the conditions of implementing the system rather than questions about how the ERP system works.

Because there must be a presentation and a discussion about how it works anyway, if there is any condition the user feels they cannot accept, it saves the time of both parties.

If you are looking for an ERP system with high flexibility, a price at a Thai level, easy-to-understand functions, and more than 26 years of experience, we recommend PlanetOne ERP.

5 popular questions! about ERP implementation