Comprehensive ERP Evaluation Criteria
Functionality and Technical Architecture Assessment Framework
Core Functional Capabilities
Financial Management
General Ledger
Chart of accounts flexibility and hierarchical structures
Multi-dimensional accounting (departments, cost centers, projects)
Journal entry processing and approvals
Period close processes and controls
Financial statement generation and customization
Inter-company transactions and eliminations
Accounts Payable
Vendor master data management
Invoice processing and validation
Payment processing and approval workflows
Check, ACH, and wire payment support
1099 reporting and compliance
Vendor portal capabilities
Accounts Receivable
Customer master data management
Invoice generation and distribution
Credit management and collections
Cash application and reconciliation
Customer statements and aging reports
Customer portal capabilities
Fixed Assets
Asset acquisition and disposal
Depreciation calculation methods
Asset transfers and reclassifications
Asset maintenance and tracking
Tax and book depreciation support
Asset reporting and compliance
Cash Management
Bank reconciliation capabilities
Cash flow forecasting
Treasury management
Bank connectivity and integration
Cash position reporting
Payment factory capabilities
Financial Reporting
Standard and custom report generation
Financial statement templates
Drill-down and drill-through capabilities
Real-time vs. batch reporting options
Regulatory compliance reporting
Financial dashboards and KPIs
Multi-Entity Management
Multi-company consolidation
Inter-company transactions and eliminations
Entity-specific configurations
Consolidated financial reporting
Multi-currency support
Global tax compliance
Supply Chain Management
Procurement
Purchase requisition management
Purchase order processing and approvals
Receiving and inspection
Vendor evaluation and scorecards
Contract management
Catalog management and punch-out capabilities
Inventory Management
Item master data management
Multi-warehouse and location support
Lot/serial tracking and traceability
Inventory valuation methods (FIFO, LIFO, weighted average)
ABC analysis and inventory optimization
Cycle counting and physical inventory
Barcode and RFID support
Warehouse Management
Putaway and picking strategies
Zone and bin management
Wave and batch picking
Cross-docking capabilities
Labor management and productivity tracking
Mobile device support for warehouse operations
Order Management
Sales order entry and processing
Credit checking and order holds
Pricing and promotions management
Order promising and ATP calculations
Order change management
Backorder management
Order tracking and status updates
Shipping and Logistics
Shipment planning and execution
Carrier selection and rating
Shipping documentation generation
Freight calculation and management
International shipping and compliance
Package tracking and notifications
Demand Planning
Forecast generation and management
Statistical forecasting methods
Collaborative forecasting capabilities
Forecast accuracy measurement
Demand sensing and shaping
Scenario planning and simulation
Supply Planning
Material requirements planning (MRP)
Master production scheduling
Capacity planning and constraints
Multi-echelon inventory optimization
Supplier collaboration and planning
Inventory target setting and management
Manufacturing
Production Planning
Bill of materials (BOM) management
Routing and operation sequencing
Work center and resource management
Production scheduling and sequencing
Finite and infinite capacity planning
Production plan visualization
Shop Floor Control
Work order management
Labor tracking and reporting
Machine utilization monitoring
Production reporting and status tracking
Material issue and consumption
Scrap and rework handling
Quality Management
Quality control plans and inspection procedures
Non-conformance management
Corrective and preventive actions (CAPA)
Statistical process control (SPC)
Quality metrics and reporting
Supplier quality management
Manufacturing Execution System (MES)
Real-time production monitoring
Machine connectivity and IoT integration
Electronic work instructions
Production analytics and visualization
Downtime tracking and analysis
OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) reporting
Product Lifecycle Management
New product development workflow
Engineering change management
Document management and control
Product data management
Revision control and history
Product costing and simulation
Manufacturing Types Support
Discrete manufacturing
Process manufacturing
Mixed-mode manufacturing
Engineer-to-order
Make-to-order
Make-to-stock
Assemble-to-order
Human Capital Management
Core HR
Employee record management
Organizational structure and positions
Job management and classification
Benefits administration
Time-off management
Compliance and reporting
Talent Management
Recruitment and applicant tracking
Onboarding and offboarding
Performance management
Succession planning
Learning management
Career development
Workforce Management
Time and attendance tracking
Scheduling and rostering
Labor planning and forecasting
Absence management
Labor compliance management
Mobile time capture
Payroll
Payroll processing and calculation
Tax filing and compliance
Garnishment management
Multi-jurisdiction support
Payroll reporting and analytics
Employee self-service for pay information
Employee Experience
Employee self-service portal
Mobile employee capabilities
Social collaboration tools
Feedback and engagement tools
Recognition programs
Internal communications
Customer Relationship Management
Sales Management
Lead and opportunity management
Quote and proposal generation
Pipeline management and forecasting
Territory management
Commissions and incentive management
Sales performance analytics
Marketing Automation
Campaign management
Marketing analytics and attribution
Email marketing capabilities
Landing page and form creation
Marketing calendar management
Marketing resource management
Service Management
Case management
Service level agreement (SLA) tracking
Knowledge base management
Service scheduling and dispatch
Customer communication channels
Service analytics and reporting
Customer Experience
Customer journey mapping
Customer feedback management
Personalization capabilities
Customer insights and analytics
Loyalty program management
Voice of customer integration
Project Management
Project Setup and Planning
Project creation and templates
Work breakdown structure (WBS)
Task management and dependencies
Resource allocation and leveling
Project scheduling and Gantt charts
Milestone tracking
Project Accounting
Project budgeting and cost planning
Time and expense capture
Project billing and invoicing
Revenue recognition methods
Project cost accounting
Profitability analysis
Project Execution
Task assignment and tracking
Collaborative workspaces
Document management
Issue and risk management
Change order processing
Project communication tools
Project Analytics
Project status dashboards
Earned value management
Project KPIs and metrics
Resource utilization reporting
Portfolio analysis and visualization
Project variance analysis
Industry-Specific Capabilities
Retail
Point of sale (POS) integration
Omnichannel capabilities
Merchandising management
Promotional pricing and discounts
Gift card and loyalty management
Store operations management
Professional Services
Resource management and utilization
Skills tracking and matching
Time and billing
Project profitability
Client relationship management
Services delivery management
Healthcare
Patient management
Clinical workflow support
Medical billing and coding
Regulatory compliance (HIPAA, etc.)
Supply chain for healthcare
Research and clinical trial management
Public Sector
Grant management
Fund accounting
Constituent management
Regulatory compliance
Public procurement processes
Public reporting requirements
Financial Services
Client onboarding and KYC
Portfolio management
Risk assessment and compliance
Transaction monitoring
Financial instrument management
Regulatory reporting
Technical Architecture
Platform Architecture
Deployment Models
Public cloud options
Private cloud options
Hybrid deployment capabilities
On-premises deployment support
Multi-cloud strategy
Edge computing capabilities
Multi-Tenant Architecture
True multi-tenancy vs. isolated instances
Tenant data isolation and security
Tenant customization capabilities
Tenant upgrade process
Tenant migration options
Resource sharing efficiencies
Application Architecture
Monolithic vs. microservices approach
Service-oriented architecture (SOA)
Containerization strategy
API-first design principles
Serverless computing components
Event-driven architecture
Database Architecture
Database technology and version
Relational vs. NoSQL approaches
Data partitioning and sharding strategy
In-memory database capabilities
Database scaling mechanisms
Data archiving and purging strategies
Infrastructure
Underlying hardware requirements
Virtualization approach
Network requirements and topology
Load balancing strategy
Content delivery capabilities
Disaster recovery infrastructure
Integration Capabilities
API Management
API standards and protocols (REST, SOAP, GraphQL)
API documentation and developer portal
API rate limiting and throttling
API versioning strategy
API security and authentication
API monitoring and analytics
Integration Framework
Integration patterns and methodologies
Pre-built connectors and adapters
Integration platform capabilities
Batch vs. real-time integration options
ETL and data synchronization tools
Integration monitoring and error handling
Interoperability
Industry standard support (HL7, FHIR, EDI, etc.)
File format support (XML, JSON, CSV, etc.)
Cross-platform compatibility
Legacy system integration capabilities
Third-party marketplace integrations
IoT and device integration
Workflow and Orchestration
Business process modeling capabilities
Workflow design and management
Business rules engine
Workflow monitoring and analytics
Human-in-the-loop processes
Process optimization and simulation
Scalability and Performance
Scalability
Horizontal scaling capabilities
Vertical scaling options
Auto-scaling mechanisms
Scalability limits and thresholds
Growth capacity without degradation
Multi-region deployment capabilities
Performance Management
Performance benchmarks and standards
Response time guarantees
Transaction processing capacity
Caching strategies
Query optimization capabilities
Background processing management
Data Volume Handling
Large dataset management
High-volume transaction processing
Batch processing capabilities
Data archiving and retention strategies
Historical data access performance
Big data integration capabilities
Concurrency Support
Simultaneous user capacity
Locking mechanisms
Concurrency control approach
Peak load handling
Resource contention management
Session management
Security and Compliance
Authentication and Authorization
Identity management capabilities
Multi-factor authentication support
Single sign-on (SSO) capabilities
Role-based access control (RBAC)
Attribute-based access control (ABAC)
Fine-grained permissions management
Data Security
Data encryption at rest
Data encryption in transit
Data masking and anonymization
Sensitive data discovery and classification
Data loss prevention capabilities
Privacy by design principles
Audit and Compliance
Comprehensive audit logging
Audit trail and history
Regulatory compliance certifications
Segregation of duties controls
Compliance reporting capabilities
Data sovereignty support
Threat Protection
Vulnerability management process
Intrusion detection and prevention
DDoS protection mechanisms
Penetration testing frequency
Security patch management
Malware and ransomware protection
Security Operations
Security incident response process
Security monitoring and alerting
Security analytics and reporting
Third-party security assessments
Security program governance
Supply chain security measures
Extensibility and Customization
Configuration Capabilities
System parameter settings
Business rule configuration
Workflow configuration
Form and field configurability
Report configuration options
User interface personalization
Customization Tools
Low-code/no-code development platform
Custom field creation
Form and screen customization
Custom report development
Business logic customization
User interface theming and branding
Development Framework
Programming languages supported
Development tools and IDEs
Source control integration
DevOps pipeline support
Testing frameworks and automation
Release management tools
Add-on Marketplace
Partner ecosystem breadth
Pre-built application availability
Industry-specific solutions
Add-on certification process
Marketplace governance
Integration between add-ons
Extensibility Governance
Customization impact on upgrades
Best practices and guidelines
Code review processes
Change management procedures
Extension lifecycle management
Backward compatibility policy
Availability and Reliability
System Uptime
Service level agreements (SLAs)
Planned maintenance windows
Unplanned outage history
Real-time status monitoring
Uptime reporting and transparency
Compensation for SLA violations
Disaster Recovery
Recovery point objective (RPO)
Recovery time objective (RTO)
Backup frequency and methods
Disaster recovery testing frequency
Geographic redundancy
Business continuity planning
Fault Tolerance
Single points of failure mitigation
Redundancy implementation
Failover mechanisms
Error detection and correction
Graceful degradation capabilities
Self-healing infrastructure
Monitoring and Alerting
System health monitoring
Performance monitoring
Capacity monitoring
Anomaly detection
Predictive maintenance
Alert management and escalation
Data Management
Data Governance
Master data management
Data quality management
Data stewardship tools
Data lineage tracking
Data catalog capabilities
Metadata management
Data Migration
Data import/export tools
ETL capabilities
Data transformation tools
Data validation processes
Migration project methodology
Legacy data conversion support
Business Intelligence
Reporting tools and capabilities
Dashboard creation and customization
Ad-hoc query capabilities
Data visualization options
KPI tracking and management
Mobile BI capabilities
Analytics
Predictive analytics capabilities
Prescriptive analytics features
Embedded analytics
Real-time analytics processing
Statistical analysis tools
Data mining capabilities
AI and Machine Learning
ML model integration
AI-powered recommendations
Intelligent automation
Natural language processing
Computer vision capabilities
Machine learning operations (MLOps)
User Experience
User Interface
Design consistency and standards
Responsive design for different devices
Accessibility compliance (WCAG, Section 508)
User interface customization options
Modern UX patterns and conventions
Design system implementation
Mobile Experience
Native mobile applications
Mobile web experience
Offline capabilities
Touch optimization
Mobile device feature utilization
Mobile security features
Personalization
User preference settings
Role-based experience customization
Personalized dashboards and views
Favorite and recent items
Adaptive user interfaces
User experience analytics
Usability
Learnability and intuitiveness
Efficiency and productivity
Error prevention and handling
Contextual help and guidance
Search functionality
Navigation design and efficiency
Vendor Cloud Operations
Infrastructure Management
Cloud provider relationships
Infrastructure monitoring and maintenance
Capacity planning and management
Infrastructure automation
Environment provisioning
Resource optimization practices
Release Management
Release frequency and cadence
Update deployment process
Version control and management
Release notes and documentation
Feature preview capabilities
Rollback procedures
Service Management
Incident management process
Problem management practices
Change management procedures
Configuration management approach
Service request fulfillment
Knowledge management
Support Services
Support tiers and coverage
Response time commitments
Escalation procedures
Remote support capabilities
Self-service support tools
Support staff expertise
Implementation and Operational Considerations
Implementation Methodology
Project Approach
Waterfall vs. agile implementation
Implementation accelerators
Industry-specific methodologies
Project governance framework
Risk management processes
Quality assurance procedures
Resources and Expertise
Vendor implementation resources
Partner implementation capabilities
Certification programs
Knowledge transfer approach
Staff augmentation options
Technical expertise availability
Time to Value
Implementation timeline expectations
Phased deployment approach
Quick-start programs
Pilot implementation options
Critical path management
Value realization tracking
Training and Adoption
Training Resources
Training materials and documentation
Learning management system
Role-based training paths
Hands-on labs and scenarios
Certification programs
Ongoing education options
User Adoption
Change management methodology
User engagement strategies
Adoption metrics and analytics
Super-user program support
Feedback collection mechanisms
Continuous improvement process
Ongoing Operations
System Administration
Administration tools and consoles
Batch job scheduling and monitoring
User management capabilities
Environment management
System health monitoring
Maintenance tasks automation
Vendor Relationship
Account management structure
Executive sponsorship
Customer success programs
User community and forums
Product roadmap influence
Customer advisory boards
Total Cost of Ownership
Licensing model and costs
Implementation costs
Ongoing support costs
Upgrade costs
Infrastructure costs
Internal staffing requirements
Vendor Assessment
Company Viability
Financial Stability
Revenue and growth trends
Profitability measures
Investment in R&D
Funding and ownership
Market share and position
Industry analyst ratings
Strategic Direction
Product roadmap clarity
Industry focus and expertise
Innovation track record
Partnership strategy
Acquisition history and integration
Market expansion plans
Reputation and References
Customer satisfaction metrics
Industry recognition and awards
Reference customer availability
Case studies and success stories
Third-party reviews and ratings
Customer retention rates