ERP vs Custom Software: Choosing ERP as a Strategic and Technical Solution

Buying an ERP system is a big decision, and the ERP vs custom software question often comes first. Either way, you face a large upfront investment, plus yearly running costs. So every company wants to be sure it is making the right choice.

During this process, the decision team usually asks two fair questions. First, why choose ERP over custom-built software? Second, which ERP should we pick from the many on the market? In this post, we answer both. We also explain how eresource fits, whether you see ERP as a technical or a strategic solution.

ERP vs Custom Software: Key Differences

A developer writes custom software from scratch for one company. ERP, in contrast, is a ready product that you set up to match your business. Here is how they compare:

• Cost: Custom software needs a large build budget and ongoing developer costs. A ready ERP spreads those costs across many customers.
• Time: A custom build can take many months or years. Meanwhile, a ready ERP like eresource aims to go live in under four weeks.
• Best practices: Custom software only knows your current way of working. ERP brings proven methods from your whole industry.
• Upgrades: In-house systems often get stuck when their builders leave. The ERP vendor, however, keeps improving the product for you.
• Support: With ERP, a full support team stands behind the product, instead of one or two developers.

In short, custom software may fit a very unusual process. For most firms, though, a flexible ERP gives more value for less risk.

Two Ways to See ERP

Some companies see ERP as a technical fix. Others see it as a strategic tool. Whichever view your team takes, eresource can meet both needs. Let us look at each one.

ERP as a Technical Solution

When a company sees ERP as a technical solution, the main reason to switch is usually old software. Many firms still use systems that their own staff built years ago. Others run several systems from different vendors that never quite fit together.

Over time, these systems run into hard limits. Often, they cannot handle more data or users. In other cases, the vendor has stopped support, so nobody can upgrade them. As a result, every change becomes slow, costly and risky.

ERP as a Strategic Solution

Large and growing firms often struggle to see their whole organisation clearly. A single system, where everyone follows the same routine, makes this far simpler. This matters even more as companies grow across countries.

A web-based ERP system like eresource also helps you streamline and develop the organisation. Above all, it gives leaders the information they need to shape future strategy.

Why eresource Fits Both Views

Here are the main highlights of eresource ERP:

1. Industry best practices: Each industry-specific edition comes with proven ways of working.
2. One view of the company: The integrated system shows the whole business as one unit.
3. Better control of information: Data flows through one system, with clear rights for each user.
4. Lower maintenance costs: One system replaces several old, ad hoc tools.
5. Easy replacement of old systems: It takes over from bulky software that can no longer grow.

Moreover, no-code tools let you adapt eresource to your own process. So you get much of the fit of custom software, without the long build.

ERP vs Custom Software: How to Decide

Before you decide, work through these steps:

1. List your processes: Mark which ones are standard and which are truly unique.
2. Count the full cost: Compare build, licence, support and upgrade costs over five years. Our guide to ERP software price can help.
3. Check the timeline: Ask how long each option takes to go live.
4. Think about growth: Make sure the system can scale with new users, sites and countries.
5. See it working: Ask for a live demo with your own processes.

Still Weighing ERP vs Custom Software?

eresource has helped companies replace old and custom systems since 2006. To see how it fits your business, book a free ERP demo. You can also learn about our 3X faster implementation method.

For more background, read about enterprise ERP and how one connected system drives a business forward.

Also Read – Online ERP Software demo