ERP, CRM and HRIS Selection, Decided on Evidence
We run your system selection from first interview to signed contract, independent of every vendor, so the decision rests on what your business needs and not on who gave the best demo.
Three vendor demos. Each one looked great, and each one "does everything." Six months after go-live, your team is back in spreadsheets because the new system can't handle how you price, schedule or close the month.
That's how most selections fail, and usually not because anyone was careless. Requirements get collected in a rush, everything gets marked critical, and vendors end up compared on how well they present. We replace that with a process where your people define what matters and every vendor is measured against the same standard.
What does choosing the wrong system actually cost?
More than most owners expect. In two Axsion selections, the shortlisted options averaged $285,000 in first-year cost for an ERP and $190,000 for an HR system.
And the invoice is only part of the bill. It doesn’t count the disruption to the business while you implement, or what the project takes out of your key people, who carry it on top of their day jobs. Pick the wrong system and you pay all of it again.
A structured selection costs a small fraction of that first-year number. It’s the cheapest insurance in the project, paid before you sign, while changing direction still costs nothing.
Figures are averages of the vendor proposals compared in two Axsion engagements, in Canadian dollars. Your costs will depend on your size, scope and the systems involved.
When does a business need a structured system selection?
When the decision is too expensive to get wrong and too complex to judge from demos.
Typical moments:
- You've outgrown QuickBooks and spreadsheets, and the workarounds now cost more than the software would.
- You're replacing a system that never delivered, and you can't afford to repeat it.
- The vendors you've looked at all seem identical on paper, and you can't tell them apart.
- Your board, lender or partners will ask you to justify the choice.
Why does vendor independence matter?
Axsion takes no referral fees, reseller margins or commissions from any software vendor or implementation partner.
Many selection advisors are partners of the products they recommend, which means part of their income depends on what you pick. Ours doesn't. You are the only one paying us, so the only outcome we care about is the one that works for your business.
How does the selection process work?
We run it in four phases. An Axsion consultant leads every step, and our platform keeps the work fast, consistent and traceable.
Understand the business
We capture what's driving the change, how success will be measured and who sponsors the project. The evaluation is split into business areas such as Finance, Operations, Sales or HR, and each area is assessed by the people who run it. Each expert gets a private link to a guided online interview, answered on their own schedule: how work is done today, where it breaks, what volumes and edge cases exist. We review every answer and follow up where it's vague.
Define what matters
Each area starts from a curated library of standard requirements. AI reads the interviews, adds what the library misses and flags requirements that only describe how the old system works. Then the rules kick in. A requirement can only be critical if someone can say what fails without it. Overlaps between departments get merged, and shared needs like security and integrations move to a single IT area. Your experts and stakeholders review the list, every concern ends in a decision, and the final set is locked. That locked set is the standard every vendor is measured against.
Go to market
We write a professional RFP from your company profile and locked requirements, and approve every section before it goes out. Vendors respond through a secure portal in the same format: approach, implementation plan, itemized costs, support terms, and a line-by-line answer to every requirement (fully supported, partially supported, on the roadmap, or not supported).
Decide and negotiate
Every vendor is scored against your requirements, weighted by priority and by the importance of each business area. The evaluation report shows overall and per-area scores, critical gaps and deal-breakers, one-time and recurring costs side by side, how promptly and thoroughly each vendor engaged, and our recommendation. Then we help you negotiate the contract and choose the implementation partner, so what vendors promised in the RFP ends up in what you sign.
What do you get out of it?
A decision you can defend
Every score traces back to a requirement, and every requirement traces back to one of your experts or the standard library. When someone asks why you chose this system, you show them.
A system for where the business is going
The process is built to catch requirements that only rebuild the old system, so you buy for the next five years and not the last five.
Less of your team's time
Experts answer once, online, when it suits them. No rounds of workshops.
A contract without surprises
Critical gaps and full costs, including recurring fees, are on the table before you sign, and they shape the negotiation.
What does it take from your team?
A project sponsor, one expert per business area for an online interview (typically under an hour), and a few reviewers for the requirements sign-off.
We run everything else: setup, expert follow-up, requirements quality, the RFP, vendor management, the evaluation, and negotiation support.
You receive a summary for each business area, a locked and prioritized requirements list (PDF and CSV), an approved RFP, a scored vendor evaluation with a recommendation, and support through contract and implementation partner selection.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a system selection take?
Usually a few months from kickoff to recommendation. Requirements take a few weeks, and vendors typically need about a month to respond. The exact timeline depends on how many business areas and vendors are involved, and we commit to one after the discovery call.
Do you resell or implement software?
No. We don't resell, implement or take fees from vendors. We help you choose the implementation partner and hold them to the scope you agreed.
Can't we just run the vendor demos ourselves?
You can, and you'll see what each vendor chose to show you. Without a locked set of requirements, you end up comparing presentations. With one, every vendor answers the same questions in the same format.
How much does a system selection cost?
Typically around $30,000 CAD. The exact fee depends on how many business areas and vendors are involved, and we confirm it after the discovery call.
Choosing a new system in the next twelve months?
Book a 30-minute discovery call. We'll tell you whether a full selection makes sense for you, or whether lighter guidance is enough.