If your company is in the market for a new or updated ERP system, you probably have a huge headache. But never mind that--you need to be thinking about the right questions to ask potential vendors so you have a fighting chance of making the implementation a success. There are five essential requirements that must be on any ERP shopping list, writes Todd R. Weiss in a post at CIO magazine.

At the top of the list is a means of tracking costs and time to deployment. You need to know not only a budget figure but also how that number is broken down and what variances might occur down the line. By the same token, you need to be given not just a schedule for deployment but also a timeframe for configuring and moving into production.

Next, you want to take advantage of new planning tools available for ERP deployment. These tools, which are customized for different industries, help determine how you can get what you need out of ERP by making detailed queries. They provide best practices for different verticals.

Picking the best partners for the job is also a necessity. External sources can offer an objective view on requirements and can point out when it makes sense to change a process rather than a software program. The way to locate the best partners is by networking and soliciting peer references, which is an essential step unto itself, Weiss writes. 

Finally, don't skip on the homework. ERP may be one of the largest, most complex and most complicated software programs in the company, and getting it right takes a lot of research. "It's important to consider every decision from every angle and ask every single question that pops into your mind as you talk with vendors," he advises.

For more:
- see Todd R. Weiss's post at CIO

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