--- title: "ERP Selection Consultants: What Do They Do and Do We Need One?" description: Every company is different and ERP selection consultations can take a variety of forms. Learn how to decide what’s right for your company. image: https://www.visualsouth.com/hubfs/erp-selection-consultations.jpg --- [![Visual South](https://www.visualsouth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/VisualSouthLOGOvector3015%20175w.png?width=175&height=88&name=VisualSouthLOGOvector3015%20175w.png "Visual South")](https://www.visualsouth.com/) [![Free Consultation](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2623780/3beafe61-57b9-446b-8079-719c3dce1e3a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2623780/3beafe61-57b9-446b-8079-719c3dce1e3a) ![Fotolia_143852246_XXL.jpg](https://www.visualsouth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Fotolia_143852246_XXL.jpg?width=1688&name=Fotolia_143852246_XXL.jpg "Fotolia_143852246_XXL.jpg") # Visual South Insights This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # [ERP Selection Consultants: What Do They Do and Do We Need One?](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations) 7/11/18 10:00 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### ![erp-selection-consultations](https://www.visualsouth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/erp-selection-consultations.jpg?width=700&name=erp-selection-consultations.jpg)What do they do? Searching for and evaluating ERP software is difficult. Really difficult. There are so many different terms, products, markets, deployment models, and technologies, that it can be hard to narrow down your choices to a select few. I talk with people all the time who have undertaken this challenge, and clarity is a challenge. Occasionally, companies pay a selection consultant for help figuring out which solutions to learn more about. Related: [4 Questions to Ask to Get the Right ERP System](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-evaluation) Related: [How to Choose an ERP Vendor - Before the Demonstrations](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/choose-erp-vendor) What exactly does an ERP consultant do? This person will assist your company in a variety of ways, depending on your needs. Services can include helping you define your requirements, identifying vendors, conducting/coordinating demos, selecting vendors, negotiating contracts, and implementing the chosen ERP. Every company is different, so you may need one or all of these services. If you’re weighing the benefits of ERP selection consultations, here are some things to think about… ### Do we need one? This is not a one-size-fits-all answer. For a lot of companies, these are the questions to ask before you can determine if you need a consultant: **Do you have the budget?** Selection consultants are obviously going to charge for their services.  But if you’re in a situation where you don’t have time to do ERP research on your own, a selection consultant may be well worth the price to help narrow down software solutions you should consider.  **Do you have a board, ownership, or executives who want detailed justifications of how an ERP can help transform your company?** Another benefit of hiring a selection consultant is that they typically have ROI (return on investment) tools that can help “put a dollar amount” on the value ERP can bring.  **Do you need help evaluating software demonstrations?** Selection consultants often have templates that companies can use to “grade” how a particular ERP addresses their requirements when looking at vendor software demos.  **Do you need help scheduling meetings, visits, calls, etc.? ** A selection consultant will typically serve as a logistics manager for coordinating your schedule with your selected vendors’ schedules. ### How to Vet ERP Selection Consultants There are risks to consider when deciding whether or not to use a selection consultant, both from the prospective customer side, as well as the ERP vendor side. Here are some questions to help you vet a consultant for experience and objectivity, and minimize your risks. **Will your consultant provide you with an exhaustive list of vendors to consider, or just ones he has a relationship with?** Ask this question when interviewing a selection consultant-if the consultant is compensated in ANY way, you need to be aware of this. **Does the consultant provide services relating to any of the solutions that he recommends?** While this is not direct compensation from a particular ERP vendor, it’s certainly indirect. **Can the consultant provide more than one reference?** You should talk to four or five previous clients and ask about their experience working with the consultant and what solution they chose. If every reference you talk to chose the same solution, you should be suspicious that the consultant is steering clients toward a particular solution. **Does the consultant ask tough questions?** If you engage a selection consultant, keep a careful eye on how they interact with vendors. Tough questions are a good thing, as long as every vendor gets tough questions and there’s no favoritism! Related: [What Do You Get With Infor ERP Consulting Services?](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/infor-consulting) ### ERP Evaluation Processes with Consultants I mentioned earlier that selection consultants have tools for evaluating solutions, grading demos, etc.  A typical approach is for selection consultants to “control” the evaluation process by making all vendors perform the exact same demo in the exact same order, so everyone on the team can fill out their grading spreadsheet consistently. This makes logical sense on the surface, but if you think about it, the vendors you are considering are potential LONG-TERM partners. By following a process dictated by a selection consultant, there isn’t a way for those vendors to differentiate themselves other than a demo and you want to be able to see the full breadth of what they can do for you, now and in the future. Related: [How to Run an Exhaustive ERP Comparison](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-comparison) This may sound like I am diminishing the value of a selection consultant. Absolutely not; I have worked on evaluations both with and without consultants. In my opinion, the best role a selection consultant can play is to be an advisor to the company that hires them, while allowing the ERP vendors to “do what they do.” Structuring the roles this way allows your company to evaluate the vendor, as well as the software. The selection consultant can ask questions or advise your team to ask questions based on these activities, bringing clarity to both sides when there is confusion or a breakdown in communication. This approach is typically more successful, because it gives everyone the freedom to explore the solution and allow a relationship to develop. Whether you are going to use a selection consultant or not, take a look at the [Visual South website](https://www.visualsouth.com/); we have lots of information to help. If you’re searching for an ERP solution, I suggest downloading our e-book called “[How to Select ERP and Not Regret It](https://www.visualsouth.com/how-to-select-erp).” Or, if you’d prefer to have a common-sense conversation with someone who is not a salesperson, [schedule](https://www.visualsouth.com/free-assessment) a free consultation with our president, Bryan. [![New Call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2623780/0e7a02db-8cde-412f-9c97-c2a18d5c90c4.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2623780/0e7a02db-8cde-412f-9c97-c2a18d5c90c4) Topics: [ERP selection](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-selection) ![Bryan Foshee](https://www.visualsouth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Bryan%20HS%2075.png?width=100&height=100&name=Bryan%20HS%2075.png) #### Written by [Bryan Foshee](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/author/bryan-foshee) Bryan is the President at Visual South and has been working with the company since 2002. Prior to that, he was a consultant and implemented SAP in manufacturing, distribution, and service industries. Previous Post [![](https://www.visualsouth.com/hubfs/production-process.jpg) ](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/production-process) [Manufacturing Production Process: How To Believe Your Data](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/production-process) Next Post [![](https://www.visualsouth.com/hubfs/erp-demo-crop.jpg) ](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-demo) [The Right & Wrong Ways to Run Your ERP System Demo Process](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-demo) - Recent - Popular - Categories ### Lists by Topic - [Business improvement (116)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/business-improvement) - [ERP selection (93)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-selection) - [ERP research (79)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-research) - [CloudSuite Industrial (49)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/cloudsuite-industrial) - [CSI Features (43)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/csi-features) - [ERP implementation (40)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-implementation) - [Manufacturing Data (20)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/manufacturing-data) - [Configure Price Quote (CPQ) (12)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/configure-price-quote-cpq) - [ERP deployment (11)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-deployment) - [Service Management (9)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/service-management) - [Infor Visual (7)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/infor-visual) - [Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (4)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/crm-research) [see all](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations#) ### Posts by Topic - [Business improvement (116)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/business-improvement) - [ERP selection (93)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-selection) - [ERP research (79)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-research) - [CloudSuite Industrial (49)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/cloudsuite-industrial) - [CSI Features (43)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/csi-features) - [ERP implementation (40)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-implementation) - [Manufacturing Data (20)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/manufacturing-data) - [Configure Price Quote (CPQ) (12)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/configure-price-quote-cpq) - [ERP deployment (11)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/erp-deployment) - [Service Management (9)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/service-management) - [Infor Visual (7)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/infor-visual) - [Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (4)](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/topic/crm-research) [see all](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations#) #### Services [Infor ERP Consulting](https://visualsouth.com/erp-consulting/) [Infor ERP Support](https://www.visualsouth.com/support) [ERP & ISM Implementation](https://visualsouth.com/erp-ism-implementation/) [Upgrade](https://www.visualsouth.com/upgrade) [Scheduling Workshop](https://www.visualsouth.com/scheduling-workshop) [Application Development](https://visualsouth.com/custom-applications/) [Application Process Review](https://visualsouth.com/application-process-review/) #### Products [CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine)](https://visualsouth.com/cloudsuite-industrial/) [AI for Infor ERP](https://www.visualsouth.com/infor-velocity-suite) [Infor VISUAL](https://visualsouth.com/infor-erp-visual/) [VISUAL Shop Floor Mobile](https://www.visualsouth.com/visual-shop-floor-mobile) [Infor Quality Management](https://www.visualsouth.com/iqm) [Infor CRM](https://visualsouth.com/infor-crm/) [Configure Price Quote](https://visualsouth.com/infor-cpq/) [Power BI](https://www.visualsouth.com/power-bi-reporting-and-analytics) [ERP for Government Contractors](https://www.visualsouth.com/erp-for-government-contractors) [CADLink](https://www.visualsouth.com/cadlink) [Related Products](https://www.visualsouth.com/related-products) #### RESOURCES [Blog](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog) [YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/user/VisualSouth) [Subscribe By Email](https://www.visualsouth.com/subscribe-to-insights) #### [SUCCESS STORIES](https://visualsouth.com/success-stories/) #### [ABOUT](https://www.visualsouth.com/about-us) #### Get In Touch [Contact](https://www.visualsouth.com/contact-us) [Free Consultation](https://www.visualsouth.com/free-assessment) [Privacy Policy](https://www.visualsouth.com/privacy) --- **2315 West Arbors Drive Suite 205 Charlotte, NC 28262 **704-721-6020 **![inforbadge_goldpartner-1](https://www.visualsouth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/inforbadge_goldpartner-1.png?width=287&name=inforbadge_goldpartner-1.png)**   © 2026 Visual South. All rights reserved. [[fa icon="chevron-up"]](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations#) [![Visual South](https://www.visualsouth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/VisualSouthLOGOvector3015%20175w.png?width=175&height=88&name=VisualSouthLOGOvector3015%20175w.png "Visual South")](https://www.visualsouth.com/) [![Looking for ERP?](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2623780/8f57cc23-89ad-47f7-95c3-71a93820718f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2623780/8f57cc23-89ad-47f7-95c3-71a93820718f) ## Something Powerful ### Tell The Reader More The headline and subheader tells us what you're [offering](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations#), and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for. Remember: - Bullets are great - For spelling out [benefits](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations#) and - Turning visitors into leads. ## Something Powerful ### Tell The Reader More The headline and subheader tells us what you're [offering](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations#), and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for. Remember: - Bullets are great - For spelling out [benefits](https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations#) and - Turning visitors into leads. ![](https://imaginativeacute52.com/816670.png) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Bryan Foshee", "url" : "https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/author/bryan-foshee" }, "dateModified" : "2026-03-25T20:30:28.404Z", "datePublished" : "2018-07-11T14:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "ERP Selection Consultants: What Do They Do and Do We Need One?", "image" : [ "https://www.visualsouth.com/hubfs/erp-selection-consultations.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.visualsouth.com/blog/erp-selection-consultations", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.visualsouth.com/hubfs/VisualSouthLOGOvector3015%20175w.png" }, "name" : "Visual South" } } ```