ERP

ERP tools are only difficult to select because they are a major investment in the systems that run an organisation. Select suppliers by asking: can they support you where and when you need suppport, can you afford them, have they worked with your type of organisation before, if you must do it their way (e.g. SAP) or want the package to be tailored to your way (e.g. SunSystems) etc.

More info at:
http://www.erpcentral.com
http://www.cio.com/research/erp/
http://erp.ittoolbox.com/
http://www.r2isc.com/ERP%20vendors.htm
http://www.FindAccountingSoftware.com

The criteria you use must reflect your requirements:
How many human languages - can the system do this in multiple languages in the same installation or separate installations.
Can it handle the different terms, practices and accounting rules your organisation needs: depreciation has different rules in Japan and europe, required accounting practices in Italy are illegal in USA, and tax is different everywhere.
Does your organisation do business in multiple currencies or have clients who do?
type of organisation (e.g. professional services and manufacturing need very different levels of complexity for inventory, stock and purchasing parts of ERP)
the depth of analysis of transactions (codes for cost center, expenditure type, project, location, ... etc)
cross referencing of transactions (and audit trails) so you can see the process of your business e.g. order taken, stock replensish, order shipped, payment recieved, costs and profit allocated.
the user interface abilities (can clerks enter transactions quickly, the auditors get detail and summary, and the executives have thier pattern reports and graphical analysis)
the size of your organisation and how that effects how you run things (is SAP too big for you or Sage too small?)
can it handle the employment and business law requirements you have
.... and so on

Reply to: What process to undertake to select ERP tool?
1. Contact the solution provider in order to assess your position and the cost
2. Ask a consultant to differentiate
3. Choose the amount to invest, the time for ROI and the most important the gain expected after implementation
4. Make your decision for complexity
5. Make the good choice for consultancy for implementation
Reply to: what criteria would be most critical for this selection?
1. ROI
2. Time of implementation
3. Further development and future releases support
4. Compatibility with other related products
Reply to: why is the selection of ERP tools difficult?
1. Sometimes you do not really know the level of complexity to choose for better decision
2. The solution provided could be relatively the same from a large number of software suppliers
3. Lack of good and independent advice
4. The difference could be from the consultancy part of implementation
5. Lack of accurate information about the product reliability
Reply to: How we can classify various ERP contenders
1. One way to classify is the technology provided which can be an important criteria to choose for future development and not only for the moment of implementation
2. Another way to classify is the post implementation and future releases support