Choosing an ERP is one of the most consequential decisions a business can make. Get it wrong and you are not just losing money — you are losing time, team morale, and competitive momentum.
This 15-point checklist is drawn from over 30 real ERP implementation projects in Thailand, designed to help you cover every critical angle before you sign a contract.
Part 1: Internal Readiness
Check 1: You Have Documented Processes Before Buying
ERP is not magic — it will not fix processes that are still chaotic. If your business does not have clear SOPs and workflows, sort that out first.
Test question: "Could you explain this process clearly enough for a new hire to understand in 30 minutes?" If not, you are not ready to buy ERP yet.
Check 2: Your Budget Is Realistic — Including Hidden Costs
Vendor quotes typically do not include: user training costs, data migration fees (which grow with data quality issues), customization extras, hardware or server costs for on-premise, and ongoing annual support. Add a 30–40% buffer to the initial quote.
Check 3: You Have a Project Owner With Real Authority
Most ERP failures trace back to not having a client-side owner empowered to make decisions. Your project owner needs to dedicate 30–50% of their time during implementation and be able to make requirement decisions without escalating to senior leadership for every question.
Check 4: Your Team Is Ready for Change
ERP changes how everyone works. Some people will resist. Without visible leadership commitment to communicating why the change is happening and what the benefits are, the project will stall.
Check 5: Your Data Is in a Migratable State
Data stored in fragmented Excel files or paper records must be converted to formats the ERP can import. The messier your legacy data, the more the migration will cost and the longer it will take.
Part 2: Feature Fit
Check 6: Core Modules Match Your Actual Workflows
Have the vendor demonstrate using your real use cases, not their prepared demo script. The system should handle your primary workflows — purchasing, production, finance — without requiring extensive custom code.
Check 7: Reports and Dashboards You Need Are Ready
Executives make decisions with reports. Verify that the reports you need today — P&L, inventory aging, sales by customer — are easy to extract and can be customized without mandating vendor involvement every time.
Check 8: Mobile and Remote Access That Actually Works
Test the mobile experience on an actual smartphone, not just accept "mobile supported" on a specification sheet. Your sales team, logistics team, and management need to access the system outside the office.
Check 9: Integration With Your Existing Systems
List every system the ERP must connect with: accounting, e-commerce, payment gateways, LINE OA, logistics APIs. Then ask the vendor directly how each integration works and what it costs.
Check 10: Scalability for the Next 3–5 Years
Ask yourself what the business looks like in three years: more users, much higher transaction volume, additional branches. Can the chosen system handle any of these scenarios without requiring a full migration?
Part 3: Vendor Quality
Check 11: Real References in Your Industry
Request contact information for clients in the same industry that the vendor has implemented for. Call them directly and ask: did the timeline hold? What problems came up? How did the vendor respond?
Check 12: The Implementation Team Has Genuine Experience
Request profiles of the actual team members who will work on your project, not just company credentials. Verify that the project manager and lead developer have completed comparable-scale projects.
Check 13: The Contract Is Specific
A good contract clearly defines deliverables per phase, a timeline with milestones, a change request process for scope additions, and SLAs for bug fixes and emergency support.
Check 14: Post Go-Live Support Is Well-Defined
Understand exactly what is included in post-launch support, how accessible the support team is, and what the annual costs will be going forward. A good vendor provides a dedicated support channel with specified response times.
Check 15: Training and Documentation Are Comprehensive
Verify that the vendor provides training programs for every user role and accessible user documentation or video tutorials — not just a single on-site training session and nothing after that.
Final Thought
These 15 items are not exhaustive, but they represent the areas Thai SMEs miss most often. Complete the checklist before signing anything. If you are uncertain about any item, ask the vendor directly or bring in an independent consultant.
The Adowbig team is happy to help you evaluate the vendors you are currently considering at no cost.