Study Says ERP Features Don't Matter

It's easy to get overwhelmed by the litany of features advertised for enterprise-resource-planning software. As it turns out, they may be irrelevant, according to a report released this week by business-advisory firm the Hackett Group.

The firm analyzed best practices at more than 2,400 organizations. It determined that the six leading ERP software suites (SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, Baan, J.D. Edwards, and Lawson) offer similar finance functions, and none has a significant impact on businesses looking to improve financial performance. Hackett Group recommends companies concentrate on process improvements and configuring their ERP software to support best practices in finance.

For many companies, that means consolidating myriad ERP applications from different vendors onto one platform so integration is easier. GrafTech International Ltd., a maker of natural and synthetic graphite and carbon-based products, is halfway through a four-year process to consolidate its financial, human-resources, and supply-chain systems on PeopleSoft's EnterpriseOne suite.

With so many disparate apps spread across GrafTech's global operations, it was difficult to gather information, says director of IT David Hilmer. GrafTech is betting that a single, well-integrated ERP platform will improve that situation, Hilmer says.