ERP Vendor Shootout gives viewers the opportunity to see live, scripted product demonstrations from the top Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) software vendors in the world, in one event.

The 10th ERP Vendor Shootout, sponsored by IBM and moderated by Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) of Montreal, Canada, is scheduled to be held May 18-19, in Chicago, Ill.

The event will focus on organizations in the manufacturing and/or distribution industries who are currently budgeting for an upgrade or replacement of their current ERP software solution, according to the organizers.

The goal of the event is to facilitate a simplified ERP software selection process. The event will provide companies with an “apples to apples” comparison, so they can walk away with a short list of potential ERP software products.

ERP software solutions are emerging as “must-do” for enterprises. In a related announcement, QAD, a provider of enterprise software and services for global manufacturing companies, said that technology analyst, Aberdeen (News - Alert) Group, will share why cloud ERP is gaining momentum, in a keynote address at an upcoming QAD event in San Antonio.

In a recent report on ERP software implementation in enterprises, Michael Krigsman, a business IT expert, says enterprises must consider the adoption of a thorough change management strategy as a crucial element when they decide to implement ERP software.

According to Krigsman, several ERP projects fail due to a company’s failure in providing staff with proper training. After the introduction of an ERP system within an enterprise, its employees need to adopt new business processes, communications channels and software tools that gets more and more complicated as the company grows in size.