It chose the Oracle package, which replaced a legacy system that had grown clunky and cumbersome, over software from other vendors, including SAP and Infor, Ashford said.

While the various vendors' software products seemed to be fairly close in terms of capabilities, Oracle "came out on top pretty substantially" for a number of reasons, including strong integration between the modules and their overall ease of use, he said.

Massimo also felt that the first implementation partner that SAP proposed would have been too expensive, and the company wasn't comfortable that a lower-cost partner SAP subsequently suggested would be capable of the job, Ashford said.

In contrast, the Oracle partners on the project were experienced and comfortable working across the various modules being installed, he said. The project went live in October on time and within budget. "The software is of outstanding quality," Ashford said. "It was an unbelievable, bug-free implementation."

Oracle was "fairly flexible" at the bargaining table, according to Ashford. For one, the sales representatives were willing to add additional software to the deal at "huge discounts," he said.