Vertical vs Horizontal ERP Selection: Why A Vertical ERP Will Take You Further

Out-of-the-box ERP pitfalls

Choosing which ERP to help manage your business can be a daunting decision. Many businesses opt for a horizontal ERP, meaning, a system that’s an out-of-the-box, one-size-fits-most type of application, and typically supports a baseline of common business functions across a multitude of industries. But the problem with a horizontal ERP is that for it to support your business adequately, customizations and scripts are often necessary to support your specific work functions, because a business that offers print management solutions has very different workflows and processes from a business that focuses on residential home construction, or made-to-order manufacturing.

Many business owners select a horizontal ERP because it can adequately support their business now, but what about as the business grows, workflows change, and other systems upon which you integrate evolve and change?

In an industry like office technology, where managed print services providers have specific challenges with servicing imaging equipment, managing JIT supply fulfillment, and tracking device profitability, a vertical ERP solution makes a lot of sense.

Because e-automate was built for office technology businesses, we can easily deliver more methods to automate daily activities specific to the needs of office tech business owners.

Integrations with OEM technologies, and other industry solution providers simplify your workflows between other systems upon which you rely.

And because of our industry specialization, e-automate continues to evolve along with the changing needs of office technology businesses. E-automate is the leading ERP solution for office technology businesses because of the relationship/dialogue we have with our customers, and the intimate understanding we have of their pains and challenges.

When the little things matter most

Minor gaps in functionality with horizontal ERPs may not seem important at first, but sometimes it’s the small things that cause the biggest headaches. E-automate had several releases this year that delivered several subtle workflow enhancements that were so specific to office equipment suppliers and managed print services businesses, that it’s unlikely a horizontal ERP could meet the functionality. And these seemingly minor enhancements, are the types of highly specific value-adds that allow e-automate to enhance the lives of office technology professionals everywhere.

Customer engagement and the e-automate user group

Specific requests like these small workflow enhancements pack a big punch in improving the daily lives of e-automate users. Our collaboration with customers is what allows us to continue delivering the highest functioning ERP for office technology businesses. E-automate is such a key factor in so many office technology businesses that an independently run e-automate User Group (EUG) was formed for sharing knowledge and experiences with e-automate.

EUG holds an annual conference in which ECI is proud to receive regular invitations. Meeting with our users allows us to keep a close ear on the changes our customers are seeing in their businesses and the industry and gives us the insight to plan and adapt to the changing needs of our customers. Many of the new enhancements described above were all born out of feedback we received from EUG members. Their advocacy has helped us to remain a leader in office technology ERP.