Selecting the right vendor for your ERP integration
“You can have a cheap, fast, or high-quality implementation — but you usually get only two.”
When a business decides it needs an ERP system, the next question is usually: How do we choose the right one?
There are many ERP providers, many pricing models, and many promises. Almost every vendor can say that their system is flexible, modern, easy to use, and perfect for growth.
A well-prepared Request for Quotation, or RFQ, helps cut through this noise.
An RFQ gives potential ERP providers the same clear picture of your company, your requirements, your goals, and your expected project scope. This allows them to prepare a proposal that is realistic instead of guessing what you need.
It also helps your company compare offers fairly. Without a clear RFQ, you may receive one cheap offer with very limited scope, one expensive offer with many extras, and one offer that sounds impressive but does not explain what will actually be delivered.
The goal of an RFQ is not to find the cheapest system. The goal is to find the right long-term partner and the ERP solution that creates real value for your business.
What an ERP System Does for a Business
ERP means Enterprise Resource Planning.
An ERP system connects important business processes in one shared platform. Depending on the company, this can include CRM, sales, purchasing, warehouse management, production, finance, HR, service, projects, documents, and Business Intelligence.
Instead of keeping information in separate Excel files, emails, local folders, and disconnected systems, the company works with one controlled source of information.
A customer order can be linked to available stock, purchasing needs, production planning, warehouse delivery, invoice creation, and payment information. Management can see what is happening across the business without waiting for someone to manually combine reports.
The value of ERP is not only automation. It is better visibility, clearer responsibilities, fewer errors, and stronger decisions.
Start the ERP Selection Process With Your Business Needs
Before sending an RFQ, the company should understand its own needs.
This does not mean that management must know every software feature or every technical detail. That is the job of the ERP provider. But the company should know where it has problems and what it wants to improve.
For example, the business may need better stock accuracy, faster order processing, customer-specific pricing, production planning, supplier control, warehouse scanning, clearer financial reports, mobile service management, or improved employee data management.
The company should also describe how it works today. How does a customer enquiry become an order? How are goods purchased and received? How does production start? How are products stored and delivered? How are invoices approved? Which reports are difficult to prepare?
The more openly the business describes its real processes, the more accurate the vendor’s proposal can be.
Do not hide complexity in the RFQ. A requirement that is not mentioned at the beginning may appear later as an unexpected cost, delay, or change request.
What an RFQ Really Is
An RFQ is a document created by the company that wants to buy the ERP system. It is sent to selected ERP providers, asking them to submit a structured commercial and technical proposal.
The RFQ should explain what the company needs and what the vendor must answer.
It gives each provider the same starting point. This makes comparison easier because vendors respond to the same key topics: business scope, system functions, implementation plan, training, support, hosting, integrations, pricing, assumptions, and timeline.
A good RFQ is not a giant list of every imaginable feature. It should focus on the processes and requirements that are most important to the company.
Describe Your Business Clearly
ERP providers need context before they can recommend the right solution.
The RFQ should explain what the company does, which industry it operates in, how many employees it has, how many locations or warehouses it manages, whether it manufactures products, whether it works internationally, and which systems are currently in use.
A furniture manufacturer, for example, may need bills of materials, production orders, work centres, material consumption, warehouse traceability, planning, and delivery management. A logistics company may need vehicle records, route planning, driver documentation, maintenance, transport costs, and compliance support. A service business may need appointments, mobile technicians, spare parts, customer signatures, contracts, and automatic invoicing.
The more specific the business description is, the less likely it is that the vendor will offer a generic system presentation that does not fit the company’s real work.
Explain the Required Scope
The RFQ should explain which business areas must be included in the first implementation phase.
This may include customer and sales management, quotations, purchase management, warehouse operations, inventory, production, finance, HR, customer service, projects, reporting, document management, e-commerce, or mobile applications.
It is also helpful to distinguish between what is essential for the first go-live and what may be added later. This protects the project from becoming too large and unclear.
Not every idea needs to be implemented on day one. The company should have a long-term vision, but it should also create a realistic first phase that gives employees a stable foundation.
The provider should be asked to state clearly which requirements are standard functionality, which require configuration, which need an additional module, and which may need custom development or an external integration.
This is one of the most important parts of the RFQ because it prevents misunderstandings later.
Ask for a Realistic Implementation Plan
An ERP proposal should not only show a software price. It should explain how the system will be implemented.
The vendor should describe how they will analyze processes, prepare the solution, migrate data, configure workflows, train employees, test the system, support go-live, and provide ongoing assistance.
The business should ask for a realistic timeline based on its scope and available internal resources. ERP projects are not delayed only because of software. They are often delayed because decisions are not made, data is incomplete, employees are unavailable for training, or processes are unclear.
The provider should also explain what they need from the company. This may include access to key employees, master data, product information, price lists, existing process descriptions, accounting information, stock data, and timely feedback on open questions.
A successful ERP implementation is a shared project. The provider brings software and implementation experience. The company brings process knowledge and decisions.
Include Data, Integrations, and Technical Requirements
Data migration should be included in the RFQ from the beginning.
The company should explain which data needs to be moved into the ERP. This may include customers, suppliers, products, price lists, stock balances, open sales orders, purchase orders, invoices, accounting data, employee records, bills of materials, or documents.
The provider should explain how this data will be prepared, imported, tested, validated, and secured.
The RFQ should also mention important existing systems. These may include accounting software, e-commerce platforms, barcode scanners, machines, CAD systems, payment providers, carrier platforms, e-invoicing systems, business intelligence tools, or customer portals.
Not every external tool must be integrated. But the provider needs to understand what must exchange data with the ERP and why.
The company should also state its preferred hosting approach. Does it want a managed cloud ERP, self-hosting, on-premise infrastructure, or help choosing the right model? It should ask about backups, access control, security measures, data location, recovery procedures, system updates, and support availability.
Make Pricing Transparent
ERP pricing should be clear enough to compare without hidden surprises.
The RFQ should ask each provider to separate the main cost areas. This includes software licensing or subscription, implementation, configuration, data migration, training, support, hosting, integrations, optional modules, custom development, and ongoing maintenance.
The company should ask for the Total Cost of Ownership, or TCO, over several years.
A low monthly subscription may become expensive when more employees need access. A lower license cost may require expensive internal IT work. An apparently affordable implementation may exclude training, data migration, support, or important modules.
The provider should clearly state all assumptions. If a price depends on a limited number of users, a limited number of workshops, standard data migration, or a fixed implementation scope, this should be visible.
Never compare only the first price. Compare what the business receives, what it must provide, and what it will cost to operate the system over time.
Evaluate the Vendor, Not Only the Product
The ERP system matters, but the implementation partner matters just as much.
The company should ask about industry experience, reference customers, project methodology, support processes, training approach, and the experience of the consultants who will actually work on the project.
References are especially valuable when they come from companies with similar processes. A vendor may have many customers, but the most useful reference is a company that faces similar operational challenges.
The business should also ask how support works after go-live. Who responds when there is a problem? What is the expected response time? How are incidents reported? How are future improvements planned? What support is included, and what is charged separately?
An ERP provider should become a trusted business partner, not just a software supplier.
Use Clear Evaluation Criteria
Once proposals arrive, the company should compare them against the same criteria.
Functionality is important, but it is not the only factor. The company should also consider implementation quality, usability, industry fit, data migration approach, support, training, security, hosting, scalability, integration capability, commercial transparency, and long-term cost.
The best vendor is not always the cheapest and not always the largest. The best vendor is the one that understands the business, explains the project clearly, offers a realistic plan, and can support the company as it grows.
Final Thoughts
A strong ERP RFQ gives your company control before the ERP project even begins.
It helps you explain your real needs, compare vendors fairly, avoid hidden costs, and choose a provider that can support your business beyond the first implementation phase.
SIX ERP works with businesses that want more than a generic software proposal. We help companies understand their processes, identify the right scope, prepare realistic implementation plans, and build a connected ERP environment for sales, purchasing, warehouse, production, finance, HR, and Business Intelligence.
Planning an ERP project? Speak with the SIX ERP team before finalizing your RFQ. We can help you turn your business requirements into a clear, practical scope — so you receive proposals that are comparable, realistic, and built around the way your company truly works.
