Published on the 30/11/2016 | Written by Donovan Jackson

Panorama Consulting Solutions ranks ERP vendors for 2017 and comes up with a winner…

That winner is Epicor – but at iStart, we have a nagging suspicion that the very notion of ‘the best ERP vendor’ is something of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question. After all, the best software for your requirements is likely to be informed by those requirements rather than finding the ‘best vendor’ and going all in implementing their solution, regardless of minor issues like fit, alignment and suitability.

In any event, Panorama Consulting Solutions, a USA-based firm which provides a range of services, has taken on this mammoth task, surveying 1,660 respondents to evaluate 250 ERP systems based on criteria like market share and functionality. Better metrics, perhaps, for picking a winner, included implementation cost, time taken for the implementation and the payback period – although the resulting numbers do tend to look somewhat iffy. While we can believe it might take, for example, 22 months on average for an Oracle implementation, we find it hard to believe that getting an IFS system up and running would take an average of 54 months. That’s a long time.

Despite warranted (we think) scepticism, we took a look at the ‘2017 Top 10 ERP Systems Rankings Report’, liking the neat symmetry which comes with ranking things. The methodology, it said, determined vendor rankings by first determining market share (in the USA, we presume; this was not made clear) to establish that top ten, then applied a few other metrics to shake them into a list.

So, while the resulting top ten list should be taken with perhaps more than just a pinch of salt, it does nevertheless serve the purpose of highlighting vendors which should be on the shortlist of most companies looking at implementing an ERP solution.

And here it is:
1. Epicor came out first, with solutions that include AVP, BVP, Prophet 21, BisTrack, Epicor CMS, Epicor ERP, Epicor iScala, Epicor Cloud ERP, Epicor Eagle, Epicor Eclipse, Epicor Clientele, Epicor HCM, FFL Compliance Manager, LaserCat3, LumberTrack, Prelude, Vision, Mattec MES. Panorama scored Epicor 3.2 out of 5 for its functionality. Companies that used Epicor ERP Systems took an average of 8.6 months to recover their investments, but it took an average of 37.5 months to implement it. The implementation cost as a percentage of revenue was 5.4 percent.

2. Infor is next. The report said Infor’s mobile functionality is ‘far-reaching, especially for remote offices and employees’ and described its ERP as robust and with intuitive Business Intelligence functionality. The main solutions provided by Infor, include Infor M3, Infor Cloud Suite, Infor ERP A+, Infor ERP Adage, Infor ERP LN, Infor ERP COM, Infor ERP FACTS, Infor ERP LX, Infor ERP Protean Latin America, Infor ERP SX.e, Infor ERP System21, Infor EPAK, Infor ERP VISUAL, Infor ERP Xpert and Infor ERP XA (CAS). Infor held 7.4 percent of the market and scored 2.9 out of 5 for functionality. Companies that used Infor ERP Systems took an average of 9.8 months to recover their investments, but it took an average of 30 months to implement it. The implementation cost as a percentage of revenue was 5.1 percent.

3. SAP was the leader in terms of market share at 20.3 percent; solutions include SAP Business One, SAP Business ByDesign, SAP Business All-in-One and SAP Hana. SAP scored 2.9 out of 5 for functionality and companies took an average of 8.5 months to recover their investments, with an average of 34.3 months for implementation implement it. The implementation cost as a percentage of Revenue was 5.2 percent.

4. IFS scored highest for functionality with 3.6 out of 5. IFS Applications is the company’s ERP solution and it holds only 1.5 percent of the market share. Companies using IFS Applications took an average of 48 months to recover the investments, while Panorama said it took an average of (!) 54 months to implement; yet, the implementation cost as a percentage of revenue was 4 percent.

5. Oracle had the shortest implementation time as measured by Panorama, at 25.3 months. The main solutions offered by Oracle are Oracle Fusion Applications, Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft Enterprise, Siebel, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, JD Edwards World, Hyperion Financial Performance Management, Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management and the Oracle Cloud. Oracle held 13.9 percent of the market share and scored 3.3 out of 5 for functionality. Companies that used Oracle ERP Systems took an average of 22.1 months to recover their investments, with implementation cost as a percentage of revenue at 5.7 percent.

6. NetSuite had the lowest implementation cost of 2.8 percent of revenue. Its solutions include OpenAir, NetSuite ERP, NetSuite OneWorld, NetSuite CRM, NetSuite SRP, Omni-Channel Commerce (SuiteCommerce). NetSuite held 2.9 percent market share and scored 2.8 out of 5 for functionality. Companies using NetSuite took an average of 8.7 months to recover investments, but it took an average of 44 months (another !) to implement it.

7. Microsoft is strong in multi-national, multi-language and multi-currency functionality with solutions including Dynamics AX, Dynamics CRM, Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics POS, Dynamics RMS, Dynamics SL and Dynamics 365. Microsoft holds 9.4 percent market share and scored 2.9 out of 5 for functionality. Companies using Microsoft ERP took an average of 11.9 months to recover investments, and an average of 36.1 months to implement it. Implementation cost as a percentage of revenue was 5.2 percent.

8. Sage is next, which Panorama said has a strong multi-currency and multi-language functionality. Its solutions include Sage 100, Sage 300 and Sage X3; it held 3.5 percent market share and scored 2.8 out of 5 for functionality. Companies took an average of 9.6 months to recover investments, with an average of 40.5 months to implement. The implementation cost as a percentage of revenue was 4.1 percent.

9. Syspro ERP is the largest, international, independent ERP business software solutions provider; it held 1.1 percent market share and scored 3.1 out of 5 for its functionality. The implementation cost as a percentage of Revenue was 5.3 percent.

10. IQMS – held 1.2 percent market share, scored 3.0 out of 5 for functionality, with implementation cost as a percentage of Revenue at 2.9 percent.