August 4th, 2009
ERP sales are falling: here's one reason
I’m on a small project that is typical of many: “I have a modest sized business but our complexities are no different to the Big Boys. Help.” So off we trot so see if there’s a solution that comes vaguely close to an 80% fit. As a ‘day job sometimes’ consultant I get used to dragging solutions from memory and don’t think twice about clicking onto where I believe a reasonable starting point can be found. On this occasion it’s slightly different. The company has outsourced almost everything it can so it is really a design and ship shop that’s deeply into lean manufacture, JIT and kanban done by others. Try sourcing a solution for that from the usual suspects and see how far you get. But there’s a bigger issue and one that at least partially explains why MISO and others struggle to make sales.
Stand back for a moment and put yourself in the shoes of a buyer. You know the big names out there but what do you see one click into their site? Do you go for the ‘industry’ tab or ’solutions?’ And when you get there what do you find? I tried this as a thought experiment with SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Lawson and Infor. The results were startling in their variability.
All I am seeing here are functional solutions. Nothing to help me identify a solution for my industry. Now what?
Oracle chest pounding about how great it is. Not sure what I’d want to do from here.
Microsoft is trying to address me - that feels better but seems to be playing the Office card. How is that relevant?
Sort of like Microsoft but sparser. At least there’s a report I might find useful
Infor is recognizing some of the problems with which I might struggle and I can get a report. I might well click through.
Notice a trend here? Broadly speaking, the larger the vendor, the less I can easily see. It’s almost as though I am expected to ‘know’ what I am looking at. That’s all well and good if I’m an existing customer, I’ve probably been here many times. But if I’m not or am in the early stages of selection then how am I supposed to navigate my way through?
We hear a great deal about social computing and the need to nurture customers. Where are the customer profiles/highlights? If I’m not even sniffing the dog food you want to sell then what am I supposed to understand about vendor commitment to my needs? More important, the chances are that I will have more need of consulting help than I would do if I have clear and unambiguous information upon which I could start to short list. That’s a cost I’d like to mitigate. Do smaller vendors fare better? Here is one example.
Right off the bat I’ve got access to a group of nicely produced videos that quickly inform me about aspects of the solution in which I might be interested. As a potential buyer, I already feel more comfortable than I do with any of the others I’m seeing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that marketing smarter is de rigeur for small vendors. They don’t have the resources of their larger brethren. They can’t waste the money the Big Boys do. Can you imagine how much better the Big Boys might fare if they were to look down from their lofty perches to what some of the small players are doing? Is it any wonder my colleagues bemoan the GS&A that gets thrown into the market?
Dennis Howlett has been providing comment and analysis on enterprise software since 1991. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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