How to Choose an ERP Consultant: 7 Questions Every Factory Owner Must Ask

Picking the wrong ERP consultant is more damaging than picking the wrong ERP software. A bad system can be replaced. Months of wasted implementation effort, corrupted data, and a demoralised team are much harder to recover from.

Here are 7 questions to ask any ERP consultant before you sign anything.

1. “Have you implemented ERP specifically for my type of manufacturing?”

ERP for a textile manufacturer looks very different from ERP for a food processing unit or an auto components supplier. Ask for specific examples. A consultant who has only worked with trading companies or retail will struggle with BOMs, Work Orders, and shop floor workflows.

Red flag: Generic answers like “we’ve worked with many manufacturing companies.”

Good answer: “We’ve implemented ERPNext for 3 discrete manufacturers in your sector. Here’s what their production setup looked like and what we configured.”

2. “Who will actually do the work on my project?”

Many consulting firms sell on the strength of their senior partner and then hand off the project to a junior team or offshore developers. Find out exactly who will be on-site during requirements gathering, configuration, and go-live.

Red flag: “Our team will handle it” without naming anyone.

3. “What is your go-live track record?”

Ask for the number of successful go-lives vs. projects abandoned or significantly delayed. A good consultant will give you a direct answer. If they deflect or only share success stories, probe further.

4. “How do you handle scope changes during implementation?”

Every ERP project discovers new requirements mid-way. How a consultant handles this tells you everything. Fixed-scope-only consultants will leave you paying for change orders on every new requirement. Good consultants build in a structured change process.

5. “What does your post-go-live support look like?”

The first 30–60 days after go-live are the most critical. Systems that worked perfectly in UAT will have issues when real data starts flowing. Ask what’s included, what’s extra, and how fast they respond.

Red flag: Support is not mentioned in the contract at all.

6. “Can you handle Indian compliance — GST, e-Invoice, e-Way Bill, TDS?”

For Indian manufacturers, these are non-negotiable. Your ERP must integrate with the government portals directly. Ask for a live demo of e-Invoice generation within ERPNext, not a PowerPoint slide.

7. “What does your typical implementation timeline look like for a company my size?”

Any honest consultant will give you a realistic range. Be wary of unusually short timelines (it means they’re underselling the effort) and unusually long ones (it may mean they’re billing by the hour without a clear endpoint).

I’m Obaid Masoom, an ERP Project Manager with 4+ years of ERPNext implementations across manufacturing, retail, and B2B companies. If you’re evaluating ERP consultants and want a second opinion, reach out directly.