Top 5 ERP Solutions to Help You See Through Your Resources, Expenses, and Revenue

By the end of 2023, ERP systems will become a $49.38 billion market, which could be growing at a CAGR of 4.78% in the next five years.

Currently, 88% of global companies use some type of ERP solution, with manufacturing, supply chain, retail, and healthcare sectors taking a confident lead in ERP adoption.

Regarding ERP deployment, 64% of businesses opt for software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, 21% of organizations favor cloud solutions, and 15% of companies choose to host their systems on-premises.

Although 93% of organizations describe their ERP implementation projects as successful, the situation in the growing market of ERP solutions is not as positive as one might expect.

Despite their numerous features, including accounting, procurement, and human resources management, as well as comprehensive analytics and reporting, many ERP systems require significant customization in order to deliver substantial benefits.

In fact, only 10% of companies that actively use ERP solutions manage to integrate the software into their corporate IT infrastructures with minor customizations. Meanwhile, 33% and 37% of businesses customize their ERP systems to some extent or heavily.

Among the factors that contribute to a successful and beneficial ERP software implementation are support from top executives, thorough research and analysis, a change management strategy aligned with tangible goals, and a carefully selected set of ERP tools.

In this article, Symfa, an EU-based custom software engineering company with extensive expertise in enterprise resource planning development, will walk you through the ERP selection process. 

Specifically, we'll analyze the feature set, key advantages, and limitations of the top five enterprise resource planning systems dominating the market.

Top 5 ERP Solutions Your Company Should Consider

Disclaimer: Symfa is not affiliated with any companies featured on our list.

When selecting enterprise resource planning software for our listing, we've analyzed their market share, key functionality, and implementation challenges.

1. SAP ERP. Developed by SAP SE, this enterprise resource planning system accounts for 11.8% of all ERP systems utilized globally. With a robust feature set, such as finance, inventory, customer relations, and compliance management, SAP is also known for its strong analytics and built-in scalability. The vendor provides an array of industry-specific solutions, such as SAP for Retail and GROW with SAP for manufacturing companies. The downside? SAP ERP can be complex to implement and is rather costly, with prices of $200 per month for an advanced user.

2. Oracle ERP Cloud. This robust ERP solution from Oracle Corporation boasts an impressive market share of 1.63% of the enterprise resource planning software market. Its core functionality spans financial performance management, supply chain process orchestration, inventory analytics and procurement, and project planning. Deployed fully in the cloud, the ERP solution seamlessly integrates with your IT infrastructure and scales along with your business. However, Oracle ERP Cloud is usually purchased as a bulk of licenses with a minimum commitment of three years, while the license fee for a single user exceeds $7,000 annually.

3. Microsoft Dynamics 365. This ERP solution from Microsoft combines the best features of enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software. Boasting a user-friendly interface and a synergy with other Microsoft products, the ERP system is the go-to solution for organizations looking to streamline business processes, manage finances, and tap into advanced analytics. Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be customized to meet your specific needs and integrates seamlessly with third-party applications and services, including Adobe Marketing Cloud, payment solutions like PayPal and Stripe, and eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify and Magento. The customization of Microsoft Dynamics 35, however, requires solid technical expertise. This drawback can be partially mitigated by the affordable pricing, starting at $70 per user per month.

4. Infor CloudSuite. Building on Amazon Web Services, Infor CloudSuite is a flexible, scalable, and feature-rich ERP product offering plentiful industry-specific modules for manufacturing, healthcare, and food and beverages sectors. Its functionality spans supply chain, human capital, customer relationships, and asset management. Infor CloudSuite perfectly addresses the needs of digital-first companies with flexible working policies: it's secure, reliable, and available from any device, either in the office or in the field. The ERP system, however, might require custom-written APIs and other middleware to be integrated with non-Infor products. Infor's pricing information is only available upon request.

5. Workday. A younger, faster, and more agile sister of traditional enterprise resource planning systems, Workday ERP is a cloud-based solution with various features for effective business process orchestration. The ERP tool comes with built-in components for operational planning, talent management, accounting, time and expense tracking, and reporting. One of the standout features of the ERP system is Workday Prism Analytics, a handy application that allows business analysts to aggregate data from disparate sources, prepare it for algorithmic analysis, and generate reports without involving IT teams. On the downside, Workday ERP lacks comprehensive functionality for supply chain management. While the company does not disclose its pricing information, Forbes Advisor reports that the vendor's plans start from $99 per user per month.

When choosing an ERP solution, a company needs to consider several factors:

• Specific goals the organization needs to achieve, such as better analytics, increased revenue, or superior customer service

• Availability of industry-specific functions

• Ease of scaling

• Integration with internal and external software solutions

• Costs associated with procuring, customizing, and implementing enterprise resource planning software

• Customization options (and complexity thereof)

• Vendor's ability to keep up with technology advancements, such as integrations with artificial intelligence services and the Internet of Things solutions

Having weighed in on these factors, a company might eventually opt for a lesser-known ERP brand or build resource planning software from the ground up.

And this makes an ideal topic for our next article!

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