Make or Buy: How to Decide Correctly?

The Decision Tree

1. Does this process differentiate us from the competition? No → buy. Your accounting does not need to be better than that of others.

2. Is there a product that covers at least 80 percent of it? No → build.

3. Can we live with the remaining 20 percent? Yes → buy and adapt. No → build, or buy and supplement the gap.

The Fourth Option, Often Overlooked

Buy and supplement. Use a standard product as a base, and add your own modules via its interfaces for the two or three points where it really matters. Often the most economical solution – and the one least often tested, because it doesn’t fit into either of the two categories.

What Distorts the Decision

The Appeal of the New. Building something is more interesting than buying it. This is a poor decision criterion.

Fear of Dependence. Even in-house software creates dependence – on the service provider or your own team.

A Single Missing Feature. Rejecting a product due to a missing function and instead building everything yourself is almost never justified.

How We Handle This

We say no when a product is the better choice. A project that poorly replicates an existing tool benefits no one.