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ERP Selection Project Cost and Effort Estimator

Teams often budget for software and implementation and forget that the selection phase itself consumes hundreds of hours of senior staff time. This estimator turns your team size, duration and demo plan into hours, cost and cost per vendor evaluated.

Your numbers

Core selection team size

people

Project lead and process owners who attend regularly.

Hours per person per week

hours

Average over the whole selection period.

Selection duration

20 weeks

Loaded internal hourly cost

per hour

Salary plus overhead.

Vendors taken to full demo

4 vendors

Demo days per vendor

days

Average demo attendees

people

Selection consultant fees

currency

Enter 0 if you run selection in house.

Your results

Total selection cost

$134,720

Core team hours

720

Demo attendance hours

512

Eight hour demo days times attendees.

Total internal hours

1,232

Internal time cost

$104,720

Cost per demoed vendor

$33,680

Equivalent FTE months

7.7

Based on 160 working hours per month.

A planning estimate. Real effort varies with requirements depth, number of sites and how many reference visits you make. Selection cost is usually small compared with implementation cost.

Save results:

Total selection cost vs vendors demoed

Sweeps Vendors taken to full demo from 1 to 8, holding your other inputs fixed.

Plan your selection phase

Optional: talk to a specialist about timeline, team and evidence needed for your ERP selection.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use the estimator

Enter how many people form the core team, how many hours each spends per week on average, and how long selection will run. Add the number of vendors going to full demo, days per demo and attendees, plus any selection consultant fees. The tool calculates internal hours, loaded cost, total cost and equivalent full time months. The chart shows how cost grows if you add vendors to the demo round.

Use average weekly hours, not peak weeks
Include process owners who attend demos
Use loaded cost, not base salary
Enter 0 consultant fees for in house selection

The calculation

Core hours equal team size times weekly hours times weeks. Demo hours equal vendors times days per demo times eight hours times attendees. Total hours are the sum. Internal cost multiplies hours by your loaded hourly rate and total cost adds consultant fees. Cost per vendor divides the total by the number of demoed vendors, which shows the marginal cost of widening the field.

Reading the result

With the defaults, six people at six hours a week over twenty weeks is 720 hours, and four vendors with two day demos for eight attendees adds 512 hours. That is about 1,230 hours, roughly 7.7 FTE months, before consultant fees. The chart shows that each added vendor costs several thousand dollars in staff time alone, which is a fair argument for a strict shortlist. Compare the total with the cost of a wrong decision, which is usually many times larger.

Common mistakes

People forget evaluators who attend demos only, travel for reference visits, and the backfill of operational duties. They also underestimate how often demos get repeated for a second round. Add a buffer for scope growth and for the hours spent writing and reviewing the RFP, and remember that cheaper selection that skips references and scripted demos often costs more later.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does an ERP selection take?

For mid-sized manufacturers, four to eight months is common from kickoff to contract, depending on the number of sites and the depth of requirements. Complex multi-country or regulated projects take longer.

Is a selection consultant worth it?

It can be if your team has not done an ERP selection before, or lacks time. A good consultant brings templates, market knowledge and negotiation experience. Check independence from vendors and referral fees before hiring.

How much should selection cost relative to the project?

Usually a small share, often in the low single digit percentages of total program cost including internal time. Spending too little on selection is a classic cause of costly mid-project changes.

Does the number of vendors matter that much?

Yes. Each additional full demo adds days of senior time for many people. Past four vendors the added evaluation value is usually small compared with the cost.

Netray can reduce effort in the evaluation phase by extracting current process and data facts from your existing ERP so requirements are based on evidence.

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