CPM Software - How to Choose the Right Vendor

Picture this: your team is bogged down in the daily grind of reporting tasks, financial planning and analysis, and consolidated financial statements. With each passing day, the complexity of the data you're dealing with grows, accounting standards and regulations change, and despite the volatile economic landscape, your company is growing–but with growth comes increasing complexity. Your team is cracking under the pressure, all of which is exacerbated by cumbersome spreadsheets riddled with errors.

To make matters worse, the time and energy spent on daily reporting tasks leave little room to work on other strategic endeavors.

Sound familiar? Let’s face it, manual processes such as Excel are no longer sufficient to cope with the demands of a modern finance team. If your team is being hampered by inefficient processes, then it’s time to procure a solution.

Corporate Performance Management (CPM) solutions bring the promise of automation, time-savings, and increased accuracy. But with so many vendors on the market, how do you know what to look for?

 

The benefits of CPM software for your company

CPM software reliably covers all areas of responsibility in the finance department with a single application, providing you with a holistic view of your financial data. It’s the ideal basis for sustainable corporate management.

The right CPM software provides you with:

You’ll benefit from the following advantages in your daily operations:

Selecting the right CPM software

When making a decision about Corporate Performance Management software, we recommend the following steps:

 

Step 1: Internal needs analysis

Form a project team of individuals who have an interest in the new financial software. In our experience, the team should consist of stakeholders from IT, (group) accounting, controlling, and commercial management.

This core team will make decisions about the specific requirements of the CPM software, prioritizing them, and setting a budget for the overall project. When setting out requirements, it can be helpful to sort into categories of “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves.”

 

Step 2: Best-of-breed vs. complete solution

One of the things you should decide early on is whether you should select the best tools for each finance function (best of breed) or a holistic solution that encompasses all of your requirements. There is no one-size fits all answer here, and ultimately depends on the following:

• Your business model
• Your resources
• Your goals
• Your existing system environments
   

Keep an open mind at the outset and analyze all the options before deciding on the best course of action.

 

Step 3: Market analysis of CPM providers

With so many vendors promising a magic bullet solution, determining which vendor will best meet the specific needs of your enterprise can quickly become overwhelming. The best way to go about this is taking a methodical approach, making a long list of vendors that you can gradually narrow down.

Sources that may be useful when compiling your long list include the following:

• Overviews of the market and trends in specialist media
• Discussions with other industry colleagues
• Studies by various analysts, such as Gartner
   

When you have established your long list, you can refer back to your previous list of desired features, where you determined your must-haves and nice-to-haves. You can make quick work of eliminating solutions that do not meet your essential requirements, before establishing which of those remaining are worthy of your shortlist.

When assessing the solutions on your remaining shortlist, keep these questions in mind:

1. Does the software meet all existing needs and can it also be adapted flexibly to cover future requirements?
2. Does the provider have a track record in the relevant subject areas?
3. Is the vendor established in my market
4. How do independent, external market observers assess the provider (e.g. analysts like BARC)?
5. Is the vendor financially sound and is there a corresponding level of certainty for your investment?
    

Our tip: Draw up specific specifications or a catalog of your requirements and assign weightings to the different criteria. Then clearly list and rate each of the software tools against these criteria.

Choosing the right CPM software is a critical decision that requires careful evaluation. Be open to discovering new functionalities during the process, but always keep your primary requirements at the forefront. It is important to maintain an open mind while scrutinizing each software package and considering its compatibility with your business goals, usability, scalability, and vendor support. Prioritize your essential requirements and narrow down your list to solutions that align best with your specific needs and objectives.

After going through this process, only two or three vendors should be left on your short list.

 

Step 4: Selecting the software vendor

After you have considered and evaluated your needs, only two or three vendors should remain on your short list. This prevents the selection process taking too long and becoming confusing. In the final step on the journey to selecting the Corporate Performance Management software that best meets your needs, arrange for your finalists to hold individual presentations. These will allow you to run through all of the relevant aspects, assess criteria, and eliminate misunderstandings on a one-on-one basis. Our Lucanet experts also advise companies looking for optimal Corporate Performance Management software to carry out these final steps before making their final decision:

1. Gain confidence by talking to your finalists’ reference customers. Find out their honest opinions and answers to questions such as these:
   1. How do they rate the CPM vendor?
   2. How successful was the software implementation phase?
   3. What benefits have been gained from using the CPM software, in terms of efficiency and cost savings?
   4. What suggestions for improvement do they have for the CPM software?
   5. What mistakes and problems, if any, have they experienced?
2. Consider asking for a proof of concept to be carried out. This is an opportunity for the vendors to demonstrate the suitability of their software based on data and examples provided by you. 
3. Does the provider have a track record in the relevant subject areas?
4. Is the vendor established in my market
5. How do independent, external market observers assess the provider (e.g. analysts like BARC)?
6. Is the vendor financially sound and is there a corresponding level of certainty for your investment?

 

Why a thorough comparison of CPM vendors makes sense

The journey to selecting the right CPM software is a long one, but worth the effort. In the end, you will have the perfect CPM tool from a professional vendor that delivers you fully integrated financial data. Ideally, your new CPM software will reliably cover all areas of responsibility in the finance department. With a few clicks, your solution will provide you with:

• A holistic view of your financial data.
• Successful corporate management.
• Maximum time savings.
   

Buyer´s Guide for selecting a suitable CPM vendor

Do you just want to get started and call together your team of experts? Fantastic. But just a moment! Before doing so, read our free e-book, "The Ultimate Buyer´s Guide for CPM Software".
 

Get your copy of our e-book now and begin your quest to find the right CPM software with professional support.

Download the e-book now