User Recommendations for the Food and Beverage Industry
Olin Thompson and P.J. Jakovljevic - November 9, 2006

User Recommendations

How can you get help as a prospective enterprise applications user? Well, other companies in your category which have been through an application software implementation have scars that can be valuable. Consultants that have real experience in your specific category should know the issues. Ask the vendors, "What makes your product good in our category?" Ask enough vendors, and you should gain valuable insight into what the vendor community thinks are the fatal flaws. If a vendor understands your category, and has a product that works in the category, it will know the issues—and really focused vendors will have a document that spells out these issues for you. If a vendor participates in key industry associations such as the American Meat Institute (AMI), the American Beverage Association (ABA) and others, it is a good indication that it better understands the evolving needs of your industries, and is capable of translating those needs into the current and future capabilities of its enterprise solutions...