Which ERP Is Best? An ERP Selection Guide by Company Type
Short answer: there is no single "best ERP." For two companies in the same sector with the same turnover, the right answer can differ. Three things decide it: your process complexity, your mandatory integrations, and the team capacity that will keep the system alive. This article turns those three into something measurable.
First question: is it the ERP, or a missing process?
Some companies want to replace their ERP when they actually need to solve one missing process: production planning, costing, traceability or dealer ordering. Replacing the ERP then puts a working accounting and stock structure at risk.
The rule is simple:
- If the core records (stock, accounts, ledger) work and only one process is missing, writing that process as a separate application and integrating it is lower risk and usually cheaper.
- If the core records are unreliable (stock does not tie out, cost cannot be calculated, periods do not close), the problem is the system, not the process, and replacement is genuinely on the table.
We cover this distinction in the [packaged software versus custom development framework](/en/blog/custom-software-guide).
The three axes that decide the choice
1. Process complexity
How many of these apply to you?
- Multi-level bills of material and alternative routings
- Batch, lot or serial traceability
- Subcontracted operations
- Configurable products (bill of material generated at order entry)
- Multi-unit conversion (pieces ↔ kg ↔ m²)
- Project-based costing and progress billing
0–1 items: a standard packaged ERP is probably enough.
2–3 items: a packaged ERP plus configuration.
4 or more: consider an ERP with source access or a strong development environment, or a package plus custom modules.
2. Mandatory integrations
E-invoicing, banks, fiscal devices, marketplaces, EDI, production machines, weighbridges, carriers. Every integration is a dependency. The decisive question is: does the ERP expose its data, and is that access a paid licence item?
In some ERPs API access is licensed separately. That can double integration costs three years later. Ask it in writing before signing.
3. Team capacity
An ERP is not bought, it is kept alive. Is there someone in-house who can change a report or add a screen? If not, every small change becomes a consultancy line and annual cost becomes unpredictable.
Direction by company profile
| Company profile | Dominant need | Direction |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Single site, standard production, <50 users | Accounting, stock, simple production | Local packaged ERP, minimal configuration |
| Complex production with lot traceability | BOM, batch tracking, quality | ERP with a strong production module and planned configuration |
| Make-to-order / project work | Quote costing, work orders, progress billing | ERP with strong project costing and a development environment |
| Multi-company / multi-plant group | Consolidation, intercompany movements | ERP with a genuine multi-company architecture |
| Integration-heavy (banks, marketplaces, EDI) | Open API, data access | An ERP whose API is not a licensing barrier |
| International operations | Multi-currency, language, statutory rules | A global product (SAP, Dynamics and similar) |
Which products come up?
The options most often evaluated in the Turkish market, with honest positioning:
- SAP: the broadest process depth and statutory coverage. The trade-off: high total cost, long projects and dependence on specialists. For multi-country, multi-entity groups it may genuinely be the right answer; for a small manufacturer it is usually excessive.
- canias (IAS): source access and its own development environment (TROIA) give a clear advantage on non-standard processes. The trade-off: configuration quality depends heavily on the implementing team, and the consultant pool is narrower than for global products. Module scope can be reviewed in the product documentation.
- Logo / Netsis: mature on local statutory and e-document requirements, wide support network, low entry cost. The trade-off: limits are reached earlier in complex production and project costing.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365: an integration advantage for organisations already running the Microsoft stack (Power BI, Office, Azure). The trade-off: configuration and licence costs grow quickly.
- Open source (Odoo and similar): low entry cost and flexibility. The trade-off: configuration debt accumulates at version upgrades, and Turkish statutory requirements need extra work.
There is no winner in this list. The comparison must be made against your own items, not against the products.
How to build the selection matrix
1. Reduce your processes to a list of 15–25 items (the complexity items above plus mandatory integrations).
2. Weight each item 1–5. Assign weights before seeing product demos; weights given afterwards drift toward the screens you saw.
3. Mark each item per candidate as standard / configuration / development.
4. Ask for a day estimate on every item needing configuration or development. That estimate belongs in a contract annex.
5. Track the number of items marked "development" separately from the total score. If that number is high the product does not fit you, and the score hides it.
Five questions for the demo
- Who can change this screen, in how long, and at what cost?
- Is API access included in the licence? What daily call limits apply?
- Are our configurations preserved through version upgrades?
- How many live installations exist in our sector at our scale?
- How many people from the project team are assigned to us, and are they named in the contract?
The last one matters most: the most common cause of ERP failure is not the product but the capacity of the implementation team. We cover that in the [guide to choosing an ERP consultancy](/en/blog/erp-consultancy-selection).
How should cost be compared?
Comparing licence prices is misleading. Compare five-year total cost of ownership: licence, configuration, data migration, integration, training, annual maintenance, internal staff and version upgrades. We break this down in [the real cost of an ERP project](/en/blog/erp-consulting-guide), and the [ERP cost calculator](/en/erp-cost-calculator) produces a line-item list for your own scope.
Frequently asked questions
Which ERP is cheapest?
The one with the lowest entry cost is not necessarily cheapest over five years. An ERP that looks cheap becomes expensive if API access is chargeable, if every report change needs consultancy, or if configurations break at upgrades. Compare on TCO.
Industry-specific ERP or general ERP plus configuration?
Industry-specific products bring standard processes ready-made and shorten projects. The risk is that a need outside that industry appears and the product is closed to it. A general ERP plus configuration is more flexible but takes longer and costs more. The decision depends on what share of your processes is genuinely industry-specific.
Cloud or our own servers?
Cloud reduces hardware and backup effort; your own servers give data residency and customisation freedom. The deciding factor is often connectivity tolerance at the plant: if production terminals depend on the ERP, a local copy or offline capability is required.
How long does ERP selection take?
Process analysis and matrix building take 3–6 weeks, candidate evaluation and demos 4–8 weeks. Shortening this means deferring scope until after signature, which grows cost during the project.