A company shopping for an ERP is really asking two questions at once: "Can this program run my business?" and "Who fixes the parts it cannot?" The second question usually gets postponed until after the purchase — and that is where the cost comes from.
When a packaged product is the right call
If your processes stay close to the industry standard, with no unusual calculation and no out-of-the-ordinary approval chain, a packaged product gets you started quickly.
- You work with standard stock, sales and invoicing flows
- Your reporting needs are limited
- You are under pressure to go live in a short time
When custom software becomes unavoidable
If your competitive advantage lives in the processes themselves, fitting them into someone else's template erases that advantage. And every customisation made to bend the package around your business comes back up at the next upgrade.
Three measures for the decision
Total cost of ownership, ease of handover, and how long it takes to respond to a change. Put all three in the same table and the answer usually shows itself: a package with a low licence fee, if every change depends on an outside party, costs more by the end of the third year.