# ERP Vendor Viability and Risk Assessment > Source: https://netray.co/tools/erp-vendor-viability-risk-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Score the risk of committing to a given ERP vendor across finances, roadmap, support, customer base and exit options. ## Category erp-migration ## Audience - CIO - ERP project lead - Procurement ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### What do you know about the vendor's financial health? **Help:** Public filings, audited statements or independent credit reports. **Options:** ##### Audited financials reviewed and stable **Score:** 10 ##### Partial information, no red flags **Score:** 6 ##### Only the vendor's own statements **Score:** 3 ##### Nothing checked **Score:** 0 #### How many reference customers in your industry and size run the exact product and deployment model? **Options:** ##### Three or more, and we spoke to them **Score:** 10 ##### One or two, spoken to **Score:** 6 ##### References exist but are unrelated to our case **Score:** 3 ##### None provided **Score:** 0 #### How clear is the vendor's product roadmap and commitment to the version you are buying? **Options:** ##### Published support dates and funded roadmap **Score:** 10 ##### Roadmap shared under NDA, support dates known **Score:** 7 ##### Only sales presentations **Score:** 3 ##### Product is being rebranded or replaced **Score:** 0 #### How dependent is support on a single person, team or partner? **Options:** ##### Multiple support tiers and regions **Score:** 10 ##### Adequate, with some single points **Score:** 6 ##### Heavily dependent on one partner **Score:** 3 ##### Unknown **Score:** 0 #### Can you export all of your data in usable formats today? **Options:** ##### Documented export tools and APIs, tested **Score:** 10 ##### Documented but untested **Score:** 6 ##### Only through vendor services at extra cost **Score:** 3 ##### Not confirmed **Score:** 0 #### How exposed are you to price increases at renewal? **Options:** ##### Contracted cap and reduction rights **Score:** 10 ##### Cap but no reduction rights **Score:** 7 ##### Verbal assurances only **Score:** 3 ##### No protection **Score:** 0 #### What is the ownership situation of the vendor? **Options:** ##### Stable, long-term ownership **Score:** 10 ##### Recent change with stated continuity commitments **Score:** 6 ##### Acquisition pending or under discussion **Score:** 3 ##### Unknown **Score:** 0 #### How strong is the third-party ecosystem of partners, integrators and talent in your region? **Options:** ##### Many qualified partners and available consultants **Score:** 10 ##### A few qualified partners **Score:** 6 ##### One partner **Score:** 3 ##### Hard to find talent **Score:** 0 #### How well have security and compliance claims been verified? **Options:** ##### Independent audit reports reviewed **Score:** 10 ##### Questionnaire answered with evidence **Score:** 6 ##### Questionnaire answered without evidence **Score:** 3 ##### Not assessed **Score:** 0 **Bands:** #### High risk **Min:** 0 **Max:** 40 **Verdict:** Significant gaps in evidence or protection. Do not sign until the main unknowns are resolved. **Recommendations:** - Obtain audited financials or an independent credit report - Insist on reference customers running your deployment model - Add exit, data export and price cap clauses before any commitment #### Moderate risk **Min:** 41 **Max:** 65 **Verdict:** Reasonable foundation, but several areas rely on trust rather than evidence. **Recommendations:** - Close the weakest scored questions with written vendor answers - Negotiate renewal caps and transition assistance - Test a full data export during the evaluation #### Manageable risk **Min:** 66 **Max:** 85 **Verdict:** Most areas are verified. Remaining risks are understood and contractable. **Recommendations:** - Capture residual risks in a register with owners - Schedule a pre-renewal review a year ahead - Keep a documented exit plan up to date #### Low risk **Min:** 86 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** Evidence is strong across finances, product, support and exit. Maintain monitoring. **Recommendations:** - Reassess annually and after any ownership change - Keep contract protections aligned with usage growth - Track vendor roadmap announcements against your needs ## Content **Intro:** Choosing an ERP vendor is a decade-long commitment, but vendor risk is often reviewed in an afternoon. This assessment turns nine practical questions into a risk band so gaps in your due diligence are visible. **Sections:** #### How to use the assessment **Body:** Answer based on evidence you hold, not on what the vendor has told you in a presentation. Where you have no evidence, choose the lowest option, because an unchecked risk behaves like a real one. Run the assessment for each shortlisted vendor so you can compare risk next to functional fit and price, and revisit it before signing. #### What the nine questions cover **Body:** The questions span financial health, reference customers, roadmap commitment, support depth, data portability, price protection, ownership stability, ecosystem strength and security evidence. They are weighted equally on purpose: a vendor with strong functionality can still be a poor choice if you cannot leave or if the only support partner is a single small firm. **Bullets:** - Financial and ownership stability - Product and roadmap confidence - Support and ecosystem depth - Exit and price protection #### Reading your result **Body:** The score is a percentage of the maximum, mapped to four bands. A moderate result is common and not a reason to reject a vendor; it tells you which contract clauses and evidence requests to prioritize. A high-risk result suggests pausing, either to obtain missing evidence or to compare against an alternative with a stronger position. #### Common mistakes **Body:** Buyers equate market share with safety, ignore ownership changes and rely on analyst quadrants as a proxy for due diligence. Another frequent error is checking the vendor but not the specific product line, which may have a different roadmap and support status than the company as a whole. Assess the product you are buying. **Cta:** If a legacy platform is part of your decision, Netray can help assess what keeping it running with AI-assisted tooling would involve. The assessment itself is independent of any vendor. **Faq:** #### How do I check an ERP vendor's financial health? **Answer:** Use audited statements if the company is public, or request them under NDA if private. Independent credit reports and the stability of ownership add context. Look at revenue trend, profitability, debt and the share of revenue from the product you are buying. #### Is a big vendor always lower risk? **Answer:** Not necessarily. Large vendors can retire or replace product lines, and customers on those lines face migrations. Assess the specific product, its support dates and its customer base, not just the company name. #### What is vendor lock-in risk? **Answer:** It is the cost and difficulty of leaving: proprietary data formats, heavy customization, long contracts and scarce alternatives. Reduce it with data export rights, standard interfaces, documented customization and transition assistance clauses. #### How often should we reassess vendor risk? **Answer:** At least annually, before each renewal and after major events such as an acquisition, a leadership change or a roadmap announcement. A short repeat of this assessment keeps the register current. ## Search terms erp vendor risk assessment, software vendor viability assessment, erp vendor due diligence, vendor financial stability check, erp vendor lock-in risk, erp supplier risk scorecard, erp roadmap risk --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json