CMMS Buyer’s Guide

Buying process

A practical CMMS buying process

Work through requirements, budgets, vendor conversations, demos, proposals, selection, and implementation in sequence.

03

Section

Figure Out What You Need

Turn operational needs into useful requirements.

05 articles
  1. 01How to Build Your CMMS Requirements
  2. 02Which CMMS Features Actually Matter?In preparation
  3. 03How Much CMMS Do You Really Need?In preparation
  4. 04What Information Should You Gather Before Shopping?In preparation
  5. 05Who Should Be Involved in Selecting a CMMS?In preparation
05

Section

Understand the Money

Pricing, total cost, and return on investment.

06 articles
  1. 01How CMMS Pricing Works
  2. 02What Should a CMMS Cost?
  3. 03Implementation Fees and Other Costs to Watch ForIn preparation
  4. 04How to Calculate the Cost of Your Current Maintenance ProcessIn preparation
  5. 05How to Think About CMMS ROIIn preparation
  6. 06When a CMMS Isn't Worth the CostIn preparation
06

Section

Before You Talk to Vendors

Prepare for productive first conversations.

06 articles
  1. 01What to Know Before Your First CMMS Vendor Call
  2. 02What Information Will a CMMS Vendor Ask You For?In preparation
  3. 03Questions to Ask on the First Discovery CallIn preparation
  4. 04Questions the Vendor Should Be Asking YouIn preparation
  5. 05How to Tell Whether a Vendor Understands Your Maintenance OperationIn preparation
  6. 06How Many CMMS Vendors Should You Evaluate?In preparation
07

Section

The Demo

Keep demonstrations grounded in your actual work.

07 articles
  1. 01What Should a CMMS Demo Actually Show You?In preparation
  2. 02The CMMS Demo Checklist
  3. 03Questions to Ask During a CMMS DemoIn preparation
  4. 04Don't Let the Vendor Control the Entire DemoIn preparation
  5. 05Ask the Vendor to Show Your WorkflowIn preparation
  6. 06What to Do When a Vendor Says "Yes, We Can Do That"In preparation
  7. 07Red Flags During a CMMS DemoIn preparation
10

Section

Make the Decision

Compare evidence and reach a defensible decision.

09 articles
  1. 01How to Build Your CMMS ShortlistIn preparation
  2. 02How to Compare CMMS Solutions
  3. 03How to Score What You SawIn preparation
  4. 04How to Evaluate a CMMS ProposalIn preparation
  5. 05CMMS Reference Calls: What to Ask Existing CustomersIn preparation
  6. 06Security and IT ReviewIn preparation
  7. 07CMMS Contract Questions to AskIn preparation
  8. 08How to Make the Final DecisionIn preparation
  9. 09The Final CMMS Buying ChecklistIn preparation
11

Section

Implementation

Prepare for the work that starts after signing.

08 articles
  1. 01What Happens After You Sign?In preparation
  2. 02What to Expect During CMMS Implementation
  3. 03What Can Go Wrong During Implementation?In preparation
  4. 04What Your Team Needs to ProvideIn preparation
  5. 05Preparing Your Asset DataIn preparation
  6. 06Testing Before Go-LiveIn preparation
  7. 07Training and User AdoptionIn preparation
  8. 08How to Know Whether Your CMMS Implementation WorkedIn preparation