Buying the wrong ERP for a small business is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make in this sector. The cost isn't just the software. It's the setup, the disruption, the workarounds that pile up, and the productivity you never get back. Most of the time it was avoidable, if someone independent had checked the fit before the contracts were signed.
The demo showed one thing. The operation is another.
decodedops.co.uk · DO-ART-978 · Rev 01If you recognise three or more of these, the problem usually isn't your team. It's what got signed off before anyone on your side wrote a brief.
Vendors are excellent at demos. They show you what the software does well and move quickly past what it doesn't. Without someone on your side who knows the sector, you're judging presentation skills, not fit. The only fair test is against a written brief that describes your actual business.
A brief written by someone who understands your business before you talk to any vendor changes everything. Without it, you're being sold to rather than making a choice.
Generic vendors often have great references in manufacturing or distribution. Those don't tell you how the software handles decoration: mixed methods, changing artwork, and short runs with personalisation.
Setup, training, customisation, integration, ongoing support. The full cost of an ERP for a small business is often two to three times the licence fee. That comparison rarely happens before you sign.
Fix it, or plan an exit. Eight questions decide which.
decodedops.co.uk · DO-ART-999 · Rev 01If you're in a system that doesn't fit, I give you an honest assessment of your options. Sometimes there's more in the existing system than you're using, and the implementation was poor, not the software. Sometimes the software genuinely isn't right and you need to plan a managed exit.
Either way, I help you understand the real cost of staying versus moving, and if you're moving, I write the vendor brief from your operation, and every candidate gets scored against it. That includes software I have built myself, which is exactly why the brief is written down. Fit decides, and you can see the scoring.
An hour on what's actually going wrong with the system you're running today, and whether the fix is process, configuration, or a managed move to something that fits.