The Evolving World of ERP Companies

ERP companies are integral to the success of electrical distributors as they control, or impact (in no particular order) order processing, inventory, pricing, supply chain issues (EDI, VMI, SPAs), delivery (and routing), accounting / finance, purchasing, credit, invoicing, collections, customer service and now they are even more involved in marketing (through CRM), data analytics, e-commerce, storeroom management and more.

And this is before distributors start thinking of their network (for the ERP system as well as basic business practices), the telephone being VoIP and integrating with the ERP system, SFA / sales mobility and more.

So, given the importance, and the continued expansion of these systems … some recent happenings….

• Epicor has been taken off the market by their owner, Apax Partners.  Reportedly they couldn’t attract interesting enough offers ($3B+). So, probably means “back to the drawing board” on how to increase the value for a future exit strategy (after all, it is owned by private equity). Could it mean an evaluation of the business to sell off less valuable assets? Identifying products / markets that have more, or less, potential and focusing on selected ones and abandoning others? Perhaps more acquisitions to make the company look more attractive? Or perhaps focusing on where to add value to customers and hence generating increased (and accelerated) growth opportunities that have recurring revenue (which is more highly valued by acquirers)?

• Infor acquired SalesLogix, a CRM company.  Interesting acquisition as distributors have commented that the CRM elements of ERP companies are lacking.  Since SalesLogix was a bolt-on prior to being acquired, might Infor opt to integrate it into its platform while also enabling it to be purchased for other systems as a bolt on (and simply write / utilize API’s to connect?) Will they make it part of Infor’s packages? As a distributor, presuming your ERP feature / benefit comparison is comparable between two companies, could the functionality of a CRM system make a difference in the ERP platform you select?  Now … if they, or a distributor, add a marketing automation system to this, it could be real powerful and require marketing staff to significantly interact with the ERP system!

• Xtuple is holding their xTupleCon14 October 14-18 in Norfolk, VA.  What caught our eye from Xtuple was mention of a “special preview of xTuple for Google Glass, an emerging technology with the potential to revolutionize how we do certain jobs, including warehouse operations” (and it looks like they have some very good keynote speakers.)

There’s lots going on with ERP systems and technology in general.  And realistically too much to keep up on let alone determine what you should implement (and can afford). Which begs the question, how does your company keep abreast of the changes / opportunities and determine what to pursue to reduce your costs, generate new capabilities, improve customer service, generate sales and, most importantly, improve profitability?

Thoughts on the 3 companies mentioned?

(Man
ufacturer readers … aren’t you glad that someone else makes these decisions in your company and you need to “only” interact with the systems!)