The Software Purchasing Process

Your organization is in need of new software, and although many people believe that the purchasing process is simple, it actually requires careful thought as a poor purchase can lead to such atrocities as mismanaged stocks, invoices or financials, and ultimately to an organization’s collapse. To avoid such a mishap, follow the step by step guide below.

Before You Begin
Choose a team to be involved with the selection process and check that the executives understand the following:
• Software selection is a rigorous process and will involve a number of people.
• Implementation will probably cost more than the purchase.
• Customization may turn out to be expensive, and may still not deliver the desired results.
• Skilled personnel will likely be pulled away from multi-site project management during selection and implementation.

Educate Yourself and Define Your Goals
Once your organization has committed to purchasing software, bring in an independent expert to teach you, and your selection team, about the software you are looking for. Scan the market and identify all potential packages. Make a list of approximately 20 must haves. These requirements might relate to:
• Operating systems
• Cost
• Time to implement
• POS Rollouts
• Compatibility with other software
• Local support
• Access to source code
• Vendor size
• Functionality
• Multi-Site Rollouts

Arrange a Software Demonstration
Have vendors demonstrate their software to you and your selection team.  Prior to the demonstration it is imperative that you create an agenda that covers everything you want to see. At the time of demonstration be sure to do the following:
• Give a copy of the agenda to each member of the selection team.
• Let the rep know that you have an agenda, and be sure that he agrees to follow it.
• Tell that rep that all future contact is to be through you.

Further Define Your Needs
After the demonstrations, you and your selection committee should narrow your choices down to 2 to 4 packages. At this time it is necessary to further define your needs based on the demonstrations. Each need should be rated as follows:
• Exceeds requirements
• Good fit with requirement
• Fits with a workaround
• Can be modified to fit
• Will not fit requirements

Technical Review
After evaluating your detailed requirement, you should be down to 1 package. Conduct a technical review with your chosen package. A technical review should cover the following:
• Does it play comfortably with other software?
• How easy is it to build and interface?
• How customizable are screens and reports?
• What are bandwidth requirements?
• How much effort is required for the software rollout?
• What happens under load?
• How easy is backup and restore?

Final Steps
You are almost there. Before you sign the deal, it is best to do the following:
• Check Reference Sites
• Negotiate the Price
• Iron out any contractual issues
• Review implementation effort and cost