Independent Freelance ERP Consultant

Job Description

Job DescriptionWe are seeking a highly experienced Independent ERP Consultant to represent our company throughout the ERP selection and implementation process. You will serve as our trusted advisor and advocate, ensuring that we select the right ERP system, negotiate favorable terms, and oversee the implementation partner to help deliver a successful project.
The ideal candidate has extensive experience leading ERP implementations for distribution companies and has successfully completed 10 or more full ERP implementations from planning all the way to post go live.

Key Responsibilities ERP Selection & Strategic Planning

• Evaluate our business processes and recommend the ERP system that best fits our operational needs.
• Analyze current workflows and map them to ERP functionality.
• Identify opportunities to improve business processes before implementation.
• Recommend practical workflow improvements that align with industry best practices.
• Help define project scope, objectives, and implementation strategy.
• Advise on system configuration versus customization decisions.

Vendor & Contract Management

• Assist with ERP software evaluations and vendor selection.
• Negotiate favorable software licensing, implementation, and support agreements.
• Advocate for our company's best interests throughout vendor discussions.
• Ensure vendors remain accountable for agreed-upon deliverables and timelines.

Implementation Oversight

• Work closely with the implementation partner to develop a complete implementation blueprint from project kickoff through go-live.
• Review implementation plans, milestones, and deliverables.
• Monitor project progress and identify potential risks before they become issues.
• Troubleshoot implementation challenges and recommend effective solutions.
• Evaluate the quality of work completed by the implementation team.
• Ensure implementation activities remain within the agreed project scope and prevent unnecessary scope expansion from either the implementation partner or our internal team members.
• Manage communications between our company and the implementation team.

Data, Reporting & System Configuration

• Assist in preparing and validating data for migration into the new ERP system.
• Help design reports, dashboards, forms, and document templates.
• Provide guidance on required system configurations and necessary customizations.
• Review testing results and assist with issue resolution before go-live.

Change Management & Training

• Develop strategies to support organizational change and updates throughout the implementation process and ensure employee understanding of new processes and workflows.
• Assist with training employees how to properly and efficiently use the new ERP system, including breaking down complex ERP information into clear, easy to understand concepts.
• Support user acceptance testing and end-user readiness.
• Recommend ongoing process improvements after implementation.

Required Qualifications

• Proven experience managing ERP implementations from planning through go live.
• Extensive experience implementing ERP systems for distribution, wholesale, or supply chain businesses.
• Strong understanding of ERP selection, implementation methodologies, and best practices.
• Experience conducting workflow analysis and business process improvement.
• Strong project management skills.
• Experience with change management initiatives.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and team management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to develop efficient technical solutions for our business requirements.
• Experience reviewing implementation deliverables and ensuring project quality.
• Experience working with open APIs to build system integrations
• Experience organizing and migrating data from one system to another
• Report development and document template design
• Basic IT infrastructure and networking concepts

Preferred Qualifications
Experience with one or more leading ERP platforms is highly desirable, including systems such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP Business One, Oracle NetSuite, Acumatica, Odoo, Sage, or similar enterprise ERP solutions.

• JavaScript
• Python
• Shell scripting
• Git version control
• Strong understanding of software development concepts
• ERP development

What We're Looking For
The ideal consultant will be:

• Independent and vendor-neutral
• Able to provide objective recommendations
• Comfortable challenging vendors when necessary
• Highly organized and detail-oriented
• An excellent communicator with both executive leadership and technical teams
• Focused on delivering practical business value rather than unnecessary customization
• Passionate about helping organizations improve operational efficiency

Project Goals
The successful consultant will help our company:

• Select the right ERP solution.
• Improve and standardize business processes.
• Successfully manage the implementation partner.
• Keep the project on schedule and within scope.
• Reduce implementation risk.
• Prepare clean, accurate data for migration.
• Deliver a successful ERP implementation that supports future growth.