Enterprise Resource Planning/Presales and Business Analysis

Completion status: this resource is ~50% complete.
Educational level: this is a tertiary (university) resource.

Programme edit

This is a module part of the Open Source ERP/Executive Masters course conducted by a private university.

Subject edit

ERP Presales and Business Analysis

Open Source itself is still a new concept to the public and even within IT Departments there is skepticsm and confusion as what embarking on Open Source means. For ERP, there are its own further issues such as application maturity and gaps resolution. Business owners has a checklist of pains and wants that anyone with Open Source ERP has to grasp and respond to.

Objectives edit

The objectives of this subject are:

  • To understand the issues facing a prospective customer of an ERP
  • To be familiar with the pre-sales cycle and proposal making
  • To understand the prospect's evaluation process in considering an ERP proposal
  • To grasp the methodology and practice of business analysis for an ERP

Learning Outcomes edit

On completion of this subject the students shall be able to:

  • Devise a strategy to sell his/her services in the market
  • Go through a pre-sales cycle and identify the issues and address them
  • Introduce a methodology to capture the prospects needs
  • Conduct a scoping and pre-qualification analysis
  • Present a proposal set to the prospect as well as the internal implementing team

Synopsis edit

This subject brings to the student important business context in which ERP Systems are evaluated before implementation. Starting from the pre-sales process right up to proposal delivery and closing the deal. The prospect has many issues and need to be confident that the would-be implementor can address them.

Subject Details edit

Selling ERP edit

(20 hrs)

  • ^1 - ERP Players in The Market
  • ^2 - Suspect or Prospect? - The prequalifying stage
  • ^3 - People Are Not Free - Selling Services
  • ^4 - Knowing the Territory - and Selling Yourself
  • ^5 - Users Want Functionality First

Pre-Sales Cycle edit

(20 hrs)

  • ^6 - Setting The Stage - The Call
  • ^7 - Various Roles in The Team - from Sales to Engineering Support
  • ^8 - Initial Meeting - What to expect and prepare for
  • ^9 - Handling opposition and competition
  • ^10 - Understanding the Client

Business Analysis edit

(30 hrs)

  • ^11 - Preview demo ERP via online or Virtual Machine
  • ^12 - Gathering Preliminary Information
  • ^13 - Interviewing the key personnel
  • ^14 - Drawing up Business and Operatonal Flows
  • ^15 - Calculating Return on Investment

Proposal Making edit

(30 hrs)

  • ^16 - Setting the costs
  • ^17 - Margin for Error
  • ^18 - Pricing Strategy
  • ^19 - Scoping Phases

OS Sales Strategy edit

(20 hrs)

  • ^20 - OS Services Pricing Model
    • Prelim charges for scoping exercise
  • ^21 - Packaging Services
    • Rate card for standard costs and discounts
  • ^22 - Aligning With Friends
    • Level of consultancy and market needs
  • ^23 - Sub Contractor / Consultant

Further Reading edit

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