How I build
As an ERP implementation consultant, I don’t tell you what to buy. I show you what’s on the market, what it costs, and where it falls short, so whatever you decide, you decide on the merits, not on my say-so.
Evidence · How I build
Built to the detail
The ladder · DO-ART-302
Every engagement climbs the same ladder, and it starts at the bottom every time. The bottom rung isn’t always right. You should have to reject it out loud before anyone spends money on the one above.
Rung 1
If something on the market already fits, it goes on the table, named and priced. There are several good platforms in this sector, and the right one depends on your business. I don’t resell any of them, and no vendor pays me for a recommendation.
Being upfront: I build software too, so I’m not a bystander in this decision. That is exactly why the scoring is written down. You can check the recommendation against your own brief, mine included.
Rung 2 The normal answer
On an ERP implementation the platform is usually right but leaves gaps: supplier feeds, artwork, reporting across more than one business. I’ll show you what the gap costs to leave alone versus what it costs to close with a custom layer, and let you weigh it up.
Rung 3 · Last resort
If nothing off the shelf fits, that option goes on the table too, priced and put next to everything else considered, and why it didn’t make the cut.
You own the decision. I just make sure you’re making it with the facts in front of you.
Architecture · DO-ART-112
The gap the layer closes, named specifically.
Why it works this way
There are several good platforms in this sector. I don’t resell any of them, and no one pays me for naming them. My own software gets scored the same way, in writing.Craig Blackman · Decoded Ops
I’m not on anyone’s partner list, so there’s no version of this where the platform I name pays me for naming it. If your own choice lands on rung 2 or rung 3, you’ll see what every option would have cost, not only the one you chose.
The interest I do have is my own software. It sits on the same table, scored against the same brief, and if another platform covers you better, the report says so. That is the whole arrangement, and it is why the recommendation is worth something.
An hour on what’s actually going wrong. You’ll get an honest read on which rung you’re on, including if the answer is that you don’t need me at all.