Selecting An Industry-Specific ERP vs Generic ERP

generic erp

Organizations embarking on the long journey of selecting an ERP system have a critical decision to make early on in the process. Does it make sense to utilize an industry-specific ERP system with specific modules and functions that address industry needs? Or, does the organization look toward a popular generic ERP that possesses tried an true functionality and more traditional workflows?


Making the selection

selecting erp

The most challenging part of any software selection process is determining which tools will address specific pain points inside of your organization. Often we’re tasked with software selection duties in order to determine which ERP capabilities, modules, and data management elements are a good fit for even the most diverse of supply chain structures. For us, this always starts with evaluating the processes currently in place and what will be needed going into the future.

In the early stages of the selection process, businesses will find vendors offering standardized or generic ERP systems; as well as industry-specific software with rich functionality often utilized by niche enterprise groups in mind. How do businesses determine if such a distinction makes the difference for their business?

Steps to take when deciding

Here we’ve listed several considerations that may help determine if an industry specific solution or generic ERP would be a better fit for the business.


It’s important for the business needs to understand what processes work, where to fill the gaps, and how to distinguish which functionality would drive further growth. Not all enterprise systems are created equal. Some are designed with a specific audience in mind. Connect with one of our ERP Selection experts today for help navigating the ERP assessment process.