Off-the-shelf ERP or a system built for your operation?
The honest answer depends on how unusual your operation really is. Here is the test we apply before recommending either path.
Standard packages are excellent at standard problems: general ledger, payroll, procurement. They become expensive when a business rule that defines your competitive edge has to be forced into a configuration screen it was never designed for.
A three-question test
- Would a competitor recognise your process, or is it the reason customers choose you?
- How many parallel spreadsheets survive alongside the current system? Each one is a requirement the system failed to meet.
- What does a change request cost in time — days, or a vendor release cycle?
In practice the strongest outcome is usually hybrid: keep a proven package where the process is generic, and build the operational core — dispatch, grading, workshop, fuel — around how the business actually runs. That is the model behind every platform in our portfolio, across logistics, manufacturing, produce and workshops in three countries.
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