Service(s) Provided:
Enterprise Application Advisory
Situation:
Vector was engaged to help a client move from casual shopping for new CRM and ERP applications to evaluating and selecting the application(s). The client had grown thru a series of acquisitions, each of which had separate processes and applications for estimating and quoting jobs, capturing job costs, and billing and collecting cash. Intercompany sales and delivery, a growth engine strategy, was managed on a series of excel spreadsheets to capture and account for costs, revenue, and cash. A long month-end close and consolidation cycle limited the visibility of corporate finance and the Private Equity firm to evaluate business performance and make course corrections.
Approach:
Vector personnel interviewed members of the sales, operations, and accounting teams to gain consensus on the unique decision-making requirements and prepared a formal RFP for software vendors and solution integrators. Vector handled the vendor questions and ensured that vendors received consistent information. Vector coordinated the client’s evaluation of the demonstrations and prepared apples-to-apples financial comparisons. Vector ensured that the secondary software applications, such as eSignature and Sales and Use Tax, were included in the financial comparisons.
Results:
Using targeted demonstrations which narrowed in on differentiating functionality and apples-to-apples financial comparisons, the client was able to move beyond analysis paralysis and develop a consensus decision about the best Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Configure Price Quote (CPQ), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to meet their business needs. Financial comparisons included a five-year total cost of ownership of annual recurring fees, on-going operations expenses, and the implementation fees. The final negotiated fees strategically addressed future acquisitions and resulted in an overall decrease in expected licensing costs.