Choosing an ERP consulting firm is not the finish line; it is the halfway point. The real check starts after you think you have picked a partner when you talk to references, sit in discovery workshops, and read through the proposal in detail. This is where you find out if the polished slides match how the team actually works.
Around mid-year, many companies are finalizing budgets, shortlisting partners, and locking in ERP plans before the next busy season. If that is you, a clear, question-based checklist can keep you from making a rushed decision. Instead of trusting big promises, you can test real project experience, real people, and real thinking.
Clarifying Business Fit Before Technical Depth
A good ERP consulting firm should talk about your business first and your technology second. Before you go deep into modules and integrations, push them to show how well they understand your industry.
Helpful questions include:
- How have you handled regulations, audits, and compliance rules in our vertical?
- What have you done to support seasonality, pre-peak ramp-up, and peak-demand cycles?
- How do you design for heavy months like year-end or big sales periods?
You also want to see if they can think past the go-live date. Ask how they build for growth, not just for today. For example:
- Can you share examples where you designed a solution that supported user growth over 3 to 5 years?
- How did you handle new locations, new warehouses, or new countries for past clients?
- What did you do when growth plans changed mid-project?
Then, test if they are process-first, not just button-clickers. Some questions that help:
- When do you push for process redesign instead of just configuring the ERP to match old habits?
- How do you handle resistance to process changes from business users?
- What steps do you use to agree on a “future state” process before you touch the system?
You want a partner who will help you improve how work flows, not just move messy steps into a new tool.
Validating Claims Through Reference Interviews
Reference calls are your chance to check if the story in the sales meeting lines up with the story from real projects. Go beyond asking if the client was “happy” and focus on details.
Try questions like:
- What were your original project goals and what was actually delivered?
- How did scope, timeline, or budget change after go-live?
- If you could redo one thing, what would it be?
You also want to know if the people you met will be the people you get. Ask the reference:
- Were the same consultants from the proposal on your daily project calls?
- Did the team stay stable or did you see a lot of rotation?
- Who actually made key decisions and designs?
Support and communication are just as important as design. To stress-test that, ask:
- How did they handle defects and change requests during crunch times, such as year-end close, audit season, or your busiest sales period?
- How quickly were critical issues resolved?
- What did communication look like during a problem, not just during status meetings?
If references hesitate or give vague answers, treat that as a signal to dig deeper.
Using Discovery Workshops to Test How They Think
Discovery workshops are where your ERP consulting firm shows how they listen, analyze, and design. You are not just gathering requirements; you are testing how they think.
At the start, ask the team:
- How do you prepare for discovery before the first workshop?
- How will you document findings and share them with us?
- How do you separate “must-have” from “nice-to-have” requirements?
During workshops, keep asking how they evaluate different options. For example:
- When would you choose custom development instead of using standard Odoo or another ERP feature?
- How do you weigh modular add-ons versus building something from scratch?
- What do you look for when deciding to change a process instead of changing the software?
You should also watch how they handle people dynamics. Some good questions:
- Who leads each workshop and why that person?
- How will you keep both business and IT stakeholders engaged?
- When two departments want different things, how do you resolve that conflict in real time?
The way they act in workshops is usually how they will act during the tough parts of the project.
Pressure Testing Proposals Before You Sign
A proposal is not just numbers and buzzwords; it is a bundle of assumptions. Your job is to uncover those assumptions and see how the firm will react when real life does not match the plan.
Start with scope and assumptions:
- What are your top five assumptions about our project?
- What events would break each of those assumptions?
- When assumptions break, how do you adjust scope and who approves the change?
Next, go into budget and timeline. Ask:
- How did you estimate hours for key phases like data migration, integrations, and testing?
- What contingencies did you include and what is not covered?
- How do you handle overruns in the contract?
Governance and risk management deserve their own set of questions:
- How do you log and track risks during the project?
- How often does the steering committee meet and who attends?
- What early warning indicators do you use to signal a project at risk?
A proposal that cannot stand up to this kind of stress is not ready for signatures.
Confirming Technical Depth and Integration Capabilities
Once you feel good about business fit and project approach, it is time to confirm technical depth. If you are working with Odoo or another modular ERP platform, you need proof of real experience.
Helpful questions include:
- Can you describe complex Odoo or modular ERP implementations you delivered, such as multi-company or multi-warehouse setups?
- How did you handle multi-currency and different tax rules in the same system?
- What were some of the hardest technical constraints and how did you work around them?
Integrations and data strategy can make or break your project. Ask:
- What is your approach to integrating ERP with CRM, eCommerce, or legacy systems we cannot retire yet?
- How do you plan data cleansing, mapping, and reconciliation before go-live?
- What tools or steps do you use to confirm data accuracy after migration?
Long-term support is just as important, especially when your business has its own busy seasons and local factors like weather or logistics that affect timing. Some questions to consider:
- What does support look like after go-live, both for normal days and peak times?
- How do you handle upgrades while avoiding disruption during seasonal spikes?
- How do you plan continuous improvement sprints without overwhelming users?
You want someone who sees your ERP as a long-term platform, not just a one-time project.
Turning Your Question List Into a Decision Engine
The real power of this checklist comes when you turn it into a simple scoring tool. Collect all your questions, group them into categories like business fit, delivery approach, technical depth, and support, then agree on what a strong answer looks like.
Bring in leaders from across the business, such as:
- Finance for controls, audits, and reporting
- Operations for inventory, production, or service workflows
- Sales and customer service for CRM and order handling
- IT for integration, security, and support models
Ask each group to rate answers against their own priorities. Instead of picking the ERP consulting firm with the flashiest slide deck, you will pick the one that scores highest on what really matters to your organization.
At Kodershop, we build custom software and ERP solutions, with a strong focus on Odoo and modular enterprise platforms. We welcome detailed questions, deep discovery, and careful reference and proposal reviews, because that is how both sides confirm long-term fit and set up a project that will hold up under real business pressure.
Get Started With Your Project Today
Partner with Kodershop to align your technology, processes, and people around a clear ERP strategy that fits your business. As a specialized ERP consulting firm, we help you evaluate options, design the right roadmap, and execute with minimal disruption. If you are ready to move forward or have questions about your current systems, reach out through our contact us page and we will respond promptly.