Choosing an ERP system is a long-term investment that affects every part of your business—from inventory control and yard operations to quoting, deliveries, and invoicing. And once you sign the contract, you’re locked into that vendor’s software, support, and way of doing things.
That’s why the questions you ask before signing are critical. The right questions reveal whether the ERP will support your real-world workflows—not just offer generic features that look good in a demo.
Here’s a complete breakdown of smart, strategic questions to ask ERP vendors—organized by category—to guide a confident, informed decision.
- Functionality & Industry Fit
Ask these to make sure the ERP truly fits the building materials and construction supply world:
How does your system handle multiple units of measure for a single product (e.g., linear feet, bundles, pieces)?
Can we manage contractor pricing tiers or volume-based discounts?
Is your ERP designed to support bulk materials, load staging, and job-site delivery logistics?
Can you show how the system handles returns, partial deliveries, or substitutions?
What’s built-in for managing multi-location warehouses and yard transfers?
- Customization vs Configuration
You need to know how much of the system is flexible—and what requires development:
What workflows can be configured without custom code?
How do you handle custom fields or workflows unique to our business?
If we need a custom integration, who owns the code and ongoing support?
How much of the implementation involves changing our business processes to match your ERP?
- Mobile Access and Field Use
Field teams need fast, simple tools—ask questions that test mobile practicality:
What mobile functionality is available for yard managers and delivery drivers?
Can drivers capture signatures, take delivery photos, or report issues from a mobile app?
Is offline access supported when working in remote or low-signal job sites?
Are mobile licenses included in your pricing, or charged separately?
- Implementation & Training
Success hinges on how the system gets rolled out. Dig into the vendor’s process:
How long is a typical implementation for a company our size?
What’s your approach to training users—both during rollout and after go-live?
Will we have a dedicated implementation manager?
Can you provide references from customers in our industry with similar scope?
- Support & Ongoing Service
Support is where many ERP relationships fall apart—ask about:
What are your support response times?
Is support based in-house or outsourced?
Do we get a named account manager after implementation?
What happens if we need help outside business hours?
- Updates, Upgrades, and Roadmap
Don’t assume the system you buy today is the one you’ll need tomorrow:
How often is your software updated?
Will we be forced to upgrade if we don’t want to?
How are new features released—are they included or paid add-ons?
Can you share your product roadmap for the next 12–24 months?
- Integration & Compatibility
Your ERP needs to play nicely with other tools:
What systems do you integrate with out-of-the-box (e.g., CRM, e-commerce, barcode scanners)?
Do you support open APIs for custom integrations?
How do you ensure data sync between tools like accounting software or dispatch apps?
Will integrations break when the ERP is updated?
- Pricing & Contracts
Get clarity on what’s included, what’s extra, and how costs grow:
What’s included in the base license—what modules are considered add-ons?
How do you price per user? Are there role-based or read-only access tiers?
Are mobile licenses, API access, or integrations part of the contract or billed separately?
What happens if we want to scale up mid-contract?
- Data Ownership & Exit Strategy
Don’t forget to ask what happens if you ever need to leave:
Who owns our data?
How do we export or back up our data regularly?
If we choose to leave, how do you support data migration or transition?
Are there termination fees or lock-in clauses?
Final Tip: Ask for a Live Use Case Demo
Once you’ve asked your questions, don’t settle for a generic software demo. Request a walk-through that matches your real processes: quoting, staging, delivering, and billing an actual order. That’s where the real capabilities—and the gaps—show up.
Bottom Line
A great ERP partner won’t dodge the hard questions—they’ll welcome them. Use this comparison guide to dig beyond the brochure and discover who’s truly capable of supporting your business today and tomorrow.
