Undercover: “Independent” ERP Software Selection Firms
Whether your current system is approaching the end of life, your business has grown beyond the capabilities of your current ERP, or your users are complaining that the “green screen” era is dead, nearly every company faces the need for a new ERP software every decade or so. Many organizations still try to select and […]
My Company Doesn’t Have an ERP System
We often encounter clients that don’t have a true enterprise resource planning system (ERP). That doesn’t mean they don’t have processes. This isn’t limited to just small companies. We also work with pretty big midsize companies following similar patterns of relying on QuickBooks and spreadsheets. Thus, there must be very real practical reasons why these […]
Oracle ERP Cloud vs. Oracle NetSuite: An Independent Third-Party Comparison
In the years we have been providing our annual technology-agnostic ranking of the top ERP systems, we have never seen one quite like the list for 2020. Not only were there some surprises on the list – particularly with Service Now, Workday, and SAP S/4HANA – but some vendor products fared better than others. This […]
Overcoming ERP Software Selection Analysis Paralysis
Consider this scenario: You have engaged a software selection consultant to help you evaluate and select a new ERP solution, you have narrowed from long to short-list, received your ERP RFPs and have viewed demonstrations. It is now time to decide. There are certainly considerations across the top few packages, but one has stood out […]
Golly Gee ERP Systems Are Awesome! An Attendee’s Guide to ERP User Conferences
As we head into the fall ERP user convention season, it feels similar to sitting through an endless episode of “Leave it to Beaver.” Listening to Larry Ellison at Oracle Open World, Bill McDermott at SAP’s ASUG Sapphire, Kevin Samuelson at Inforum or Darren Roos at IFS World Conference, it seems the ERP vendors’ world […]
What are the Big ERP Systems Integrators Going to be for Halloween?
System integrators (especially the big ones like Deloitte, Accenture, and Capgemini) may have to reinvent themselves. Oh my, that could be scary. We’re talking about an industry that’s been a cash cow estimated to be in excess of $220 billion dollars. They’ve been selling the same big business customized architecture applications for decades. Yet, they […]
The Top 10 ERP Systems for 2020
Disclaimer: Third Stage Consulting is an independent ERP consulting firm. Third Stage has no financial ties to ERP vendors, either directly or through parent companies or affiliates. Accordingly, the below analysis is completely technology-agnostic and 100% free of vendor bias or compensation. As we enter the home stretch of the year, many of our clients […]
Why You Should NOT Implement a New ERP System Now
Growing up in the ‘80s, I was used to hearing the phrase “just say no.” It was a term coined and used often by the US President Reagan’s wife Nancy as part of her anti-drug campaign, so the saying became ubiquitous and associated with the ‘80s. CIOs can’t seem to say “no” to drinking the […]
NetSuite vs. Salesforce: An Independent Comparison
NetSuite vs. Salesforce are two extremely popular software options. The origin or how these two evolved is very different, yet we find similarities, and both are targeting similar client demographics with similar offerings. Many organizations embarking of ERP software selection processes feel as though they need to focus on the “bigger” ERP systems. But the market is […]
Manufacturing ERP Software in 2020: The Digital Manufacturer
The 21st century has introduced a lot of technological innovation and businesses have felt the positive effect. New digital transformation manufacturing options have been strong and diverse. Some (but not enough) manufacturers have taken advantage. The advances in manufacturing ERP software have improved not only productivity but opened businesses to a whole new world of […]
Is Microsoft Losing Control of its D365 Implementations?
Microsoft’s push to Dynamics 365 has been significant. Companies are upgrading from legacy environments at an ever-increasing rate, and we are also seeing an unprecedented number of greenfield implementations. In conjunction with this, we are finding an alarming increase in D365 implementation problems, stemming from a global shortage of certified D365 consultants. Recent Microsoft D365 […]
Is Your ERP System Really that Bad?
Every day we hear horror stories daily about ERP systems that are so outdated or have become so convoluted they are causing more trouble than the value they provide to the business. Technology has been advancing at an alarming rate and legacy systems are having difficulty keeping up. New functionality is available on a daily […]