How to Choose Manufacturing Software (Without Getting Burned)
Comparing manufacturing software is like comparing cars when all you know is they have four wheels. Every vendor looks good in a demo. Most look less good after you've signed.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: 75% of ERP implementations fail. Not "underperform." Fail. We're talking budget overruns, missed deadlines, and systems that never get used. Hershey lost over $100 million on a botched ERP rollout. Nike's $400 million upgrade cost them $100 million in lost sales.
These aren't small companies with small budgets. They had consultants. They had project plans. They still got burned.
The problem isn't that choosing manufacturing software is hard. It's that most evaluations focus on the wrong things. Vendors show features. Buyers check boxes. Nobody asks the questions that actually predict success.
This guide won't give you a list of "top 10 ERP systems." It will give you a framework for asking the right questions before you write the check.
Start with Your Problems, Not Their Features
Most evaluations fail before the first vendor call. Here's why: buyers start by looking at software instead of looking at their own operation.
You schedule a demo. The vendor shows scheduling features. You think, "That looks nice." But you never asked whether your scheduling problem is even a software problem. Maybe it's a visibility problem. Maybe it's a process problem. Maybe your current software could do it if anyone knew how.
Before you talk to vendors, document what's actually broken. Not what would be "nice to have." What costs you money today.
Be specific. "We need better scheduling" is useless. "We spend four hours every morning rebuilding yesterday's schedule because we don't see machine breakdowns until the next day" is something you can evaluate against.
If you're not sure where your current system falls short, these signs your ERP wasn't built for manufacturing are a good starting point.
Five Questions Vendors Don't Want You to Ask
Every vendor has polished answers for the standard questions. These five cut through the sales script.
"What does implementation actually cost, including our internal time?"
Licensing is the tip of the iceberg. Implementation consulting often runs two to five times the software cost. But the real hidden cost is your team's time.
For a successful implementation, your best people need to spend 50% or more of their time on the project. That's not in the vendor's quote. Ask them to estimate it. If they can't, they haven't done enough implementations to know.
"Can I talk to a customer who failed and came back?"
Every vendor has happy references. What you want is someone who struggled, left, and returned. Their story tells you more than a dozen success stories.
If the vendor can't produce one, ask why. Either they don't have any (unlikely) or they don't stay in touch with unhappy customers (a red flag).
"What happens when we need to change something mid-shift?"
Manufacturing is chaos. A machine breaks. A rush order comes in. A key operator calls in sick. Your software needs to handle reality, not just the plan.
Some systems update in real time. Others batch-process overnight. The vendor will say "real-time" regardless. Ask them to show you what happens when you drag a job on the schedule at 2 PM. Does inventory update? Do downstream jobs adjust? Or does someone need to run a report?
"How long until my team actually uses this daily?"
Adoption is where implementations die. The system goes live. Operators ignore it. Within six months, everyone's back to spreadsheets.
Ask for adoption metrics from existing customers. What percentage of shop floor transactions go through the system? How long did it take to get there? If the vendor doesn't track this, they don't care about it.
"What's your customer churn rate?"
This one makes vendors uncomfortable. Good. High churn means customers try the software and leave. Low churn means they stay.
Industry averages are 5% to 10% annually for B2B SaaS. Anything higher should raise questions. Anything lower is a good sign.
Red Flags in Vendor Demos
Demos are performances. Here's what to watch for behind the curtain.
The demo runs on perfect data. Their sample company has clean inventory, organized BOMs, and machines that never break. Your data is messy. Ask them to load YOUR data for the demo. Their reaction tells you everything.
They show features, not workflows. You see "scheduling module" and "inventory module" and "reporting module." You don't see how a job flows from quote to shipment. Features in isolation don't help you. Ask to see a complete workflow.
"We can customize that" is the answer to everything. Customization is where budgets explode. Every modification makes you more dependent on that specific vendor. If basic manufacturing workflows need customization, the software wasn't built for manufacturing.
No timeline commitments. "Implementation typically takes..." should have a number after it. If they can't estimate, they've either never implemented at a company like yours or they know it'll take longer than you want to hear.
Vague on integration specifics. Your new ERP needs to talk to your machines, your CAD system, your accounting software. "We integrate with everything" isn't an answer. Ask for the specific connectors. Ask how data flows. Ask who builds the integration if one doesn't exist.
They can't show manufacturing-specific capabilities. Real manufacturing ERP handles multi-level BOMs, revision control, complex routings, and shop floor data capture. If the vendor pivots to "we can customize that," you're looking at general business software with manufacturing bolted on.
What Actually Matters for Manufacturing
Generic ERP checklists miss what's specific to manufacturing. Here's what to evaluate.
Real-Time vs Batch Updates
This is the divide between modern manufacturing software and legacy systems. Real-time means changes happen instantly. Move a job, and the schedule updates. Complete an operation, and inventory adjusts. Shop floor visibility depends on this.
Batch processing means changes wait. Maybe hourly. Maybe overnight. By the time you see a problem, it's already cost you money.
Ask vendors: "If I complete a work order right now, when will inventory reflect it?" Anything other than "immediately" is batch.
Shop Floor Usability
The best software is worthless if operators don't use it. They're not sitting at desks. They're standing at machines with gloves on. The interface needs to match how they work.
Look for: touchscreen terminals, simplified workflows, barcode scanning, and kiosk modes that don't require logging in for every transaction. If the demo shows a complex desktop interface, ask what operators actually see.
BOM and Routing Complexity
Simple products need simple software. Complex products need software that handles multi-level BOMs, engineering revisions, and routings that change based on machine availability.
Ask: "Can I have assemblies within assemblies?" Ask: "How do I handle a revision change mid-production?" Ask: "What happens when my routing differs from the plan?"
Scheduling Capability
Production scheduling is either built in or bolted on. Built-in means the schedule reflects real constraints: machine capacity, operator skills, material availability. Bolted-on means you're back to Excel.
Ask to see the scheduling Gantt chart. Drag a job. See what happens to downstream jobs. If the answer is "nothing until you run a recalculation," that's batch scheduling dressed up as real-time.
Built for Manufacturing vs Adapted from Accounting
Most ERP started as accounting software. Manufacturing features came later, if at all. The difference matters.
Accounting-first ERP treats production as a cost center. Manufacturing-first ERP treats production as the center. You can tell by what's easy and what's hard. If invoicing is simple but BOM revision control is a nightmare, you're using the wrong tool.
The Real Cost of Manufacturing Software
Licensing is the number vendors put in big font. It's also the smallest number you'll pay.
Implementation consulting runs two to five times the license cost. Complex implementations go higher. That "Phase 2" the vendor mentioned? It's not included.
Your team's time is the cost nobody quotes. A successful implementation requires your best people to spend half their time on the project. For months. What's that worth? What happens to the work they're not doing?
Training isn't one-time. New hires need training. Updates need retraining. Someone needs to own this forever.
Customization compounds. Each modification creates dependency. Each dependency increases switching costs. Eventually, you can't upgrade because it would break your customizations. You can't leave because nobody else has them.
Failed implementations cost the most. Budget overruns average three to four times the original estimate. That doesn't include the months of disruption, the lost productivity, or the organizational trust you burn when the project fails.
Calculate total cost of ownership, not annual licensing. Include consulting, training, internal time, and customization. Then add 30% because something will go wrong.
A Practical Evaluation Framework
Here's a step-by-step process that prioritizes what matters.
Step 1: Document your pain points. Before talking to any vendor, write down what's broken today. Be specific. Quantify the cost where possible. This becomes your evaluation scorecard.
Step 2: Create scenarios, not feature lists. Instead of "must have scheduling module," write: "When a machine goes down at 9 AM, we need to see the impact on all affected jobs within 10 minutes." Test vendors against scenarios, not checkboxes.
Step 3: Request demos with your data. Any vendor can demo with perfect sample data. The ones worth considering will demo with your messy, real-world data. How they handle this request tells you how they'll handle implementation.
Step 4: Talk to references who struggled. Happy customers are pre-screened. Ask specifically for a customer who had problems and how those problems were resolved. If the vendor can't or won't provide one, that's information.
Step 5: Calculate total cost of ownership. Add implementation consulting, training, internal team time, likely customizations, and ongoing support. Compare that number across vendors, not just licensing.
Step 6: Pilot before committing. If possible, run a limited pilot with real data and real users. A month of actual use reveals more than a year of demos.
The Bottom Line
Choosing manufacturing software isn't about finding the most features or the lowest price. It's about finding software that solves your actual problems without creating new ones.
The 75% failure rate isn't inevitable. It happens because buyers focus on demos instead of pain points. They ask polite questions instead of uncomfortable ones. They trust vendors instead of verifying.
You don't have to join that statistic. Start with your problems. Ask the hard questions. Demand real data. Calculate real costs. And if a vendor can't show you how their software handles manufacturing, they're selling you accounting software with a different label.
Ready to see what manufacturing software should look like?
Workcell was built for production, not adapted from accounting. Real-time visibility. Native scheduling. Shop floor interfaces designed for operators.
Book a demo and we'll show you the difference with your actual data.