The Best-of-Class Financial Systems Strategy: An Alternative to ERP Platforms

For better or worse, most companies have purchased financial software from large-scale Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform suppliers over the last decade. But as companies search for ways to lower costs and respond to a difficult business climate, the merits of implementing large-scale ERP platforms have come under closer scrutiny. This paper will examine an alternative approach that may be more appropriate and strategically sound for many companies: a best-of-class systems strategy. With that notion in mind, this paper will contemplate the following questions: Have ERP platforms grown too unwieldy for some organizations? Does ERP make sense for all types of business, especially in today's fast-changing and frugal business environment? Are ERP platforms being sold to companies that simply don't need it? Have technological advances eliminated some of the reasons for ERP platforms in the first place? Is the drive for competitive differentiation causing companies to develop more of their own operational systems, thereby eliminating the value of ERP? What does a best-of-class strategy entail, and what are the advantages? Request Free!