Why an evaluation framework at all
Software selection is where ERP projects are quietly lost. Panorama Consulting's 2026 report found that among projects over budget, the most common cause was an unexpected need for additional technology: the polite term for "we discovered the misfit after signing" 3. Selection is the cheapest moment to be rigorous and the most expensive moment to be casual.
Why ACURATE is the right framework
Because it brings the previous three pages into one decision. ACURATE is our evaluation framework. It scores a shortlisted system on the things that decide fit, not on the length of its feature list:
Region fit
the accounting formats, tax mechanics, audit files, banking protocols, payroll boundaries and collection rules of every jurisdiction you operate in, today and in your growth plan.
Industry fit
how the system follows your margin: production, distribution, assets, people-time, and the mixed models where most systems break.
Size fit
whether the organisation you have can administer the system you are buying.
Platform
data-model flexibility, interface generation, API completeness, extensibility without forking, deployment choice.
Protection
security, privacy and legal resilience, including where the data lives and how you would leave.
People
the end users' expectations, the partner ecosystem, and who picks up the phone in year three.
Price
the model as much as the level: user-based and code-based pricing punish adoption and experimentation; transaction-based pricing tends to follow value.
The seven dimensions say how we score. The capability map says what we score against: five domains and fifteen capabilities that an ERP landscape has to cover, with the transactional spine running through the middle. Every shortlisted system is drawn onto this map before a single demo is scripted: which capabilities the platform owns natively, which belong to best-of-breed applications, and which are out of scope.
| Product management & design | Supply chain & production | Revenue operations | Service operations | Administrative operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PLM Product lifecycle |
SCM Supply chain |
CRM Client relationship |
PPM Project portfolio |
HCM Human resources |
PRS Purchasing |
WMS Warehousing |
OMS Sales & shipping |
QMS & MRO Quality & repairs |
FIN Accounting |
FP&A Planning & analysis |
MES Manufacturing |
CSM Customer service |
PSA Professional service |
PAY Payroll |
How an ACURATE evaluation runs
Decision owners and goals
Who decides, on which criteria, by when. Evaluation is a project with a sponsor, not a series of demos.
Scenarios from your transactions
We take real documents (last month's Polish euro invoice, a year-end asset schedule, a service job with parts, an intercompany sale) and script them as demo scenarios.
Scripted demonstrations, scored
Vendors demonstrate the scenarios, not their roadmap. Every dimension gets evidence, not impressions.
Architecture decision
Platform-versus-best-of-breed boundaries are set here, so integrations are designed rather than discovered.
Total cost over five years
Licences, implementation, integration, upgrades, internal administration, training, change.
Decision and handover
A documented recommendation, and a draft Target Operating Model that the implementation starts from on day one.
Sources
All regulatory statements as of September 2026.
- Panorama Consulting Group, The 2026 ERP Report: panorama-consulting.com (PDF: 4439340.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net)