• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Can ERP Vendors Afford to Sell to Small and Mid-Sized Businesses? Can They Afford to Buy a System?

Can ERP Vendors Afford to Sell to Small and Mid-Sized Businesses? Can They Afford to Buy a System?

December 15, 2010
Ann Grackin, CEO, ChainLink Research

ERP packages are quite expensive to develop and support. And once developed, that sales process can be very arduous for both the end-user and the technology firm. Long meetings, gathering requirements, demos, long travel to and from the client, long travel to and from classes. It goes on. The cost of managing an ERP firm obviously has to be reflected in the price to the customer. And here is the key issue in ERP economics: Can a Big ERP sell to a small or mid-sized business?

So the question on economics of the business is critically important. Small businesses have unique concerns such as:

• Complexity - Although their business can be very complex, they can't afford software that is complex to implement and hard to understand. They need easy business intelligence and reporting.

• Support - How much is the TCO-especially the staffing to manage the ups and downs of tech.

• Multi-functional challenges - They sell, service, build, import/export, manage employees and all that jazz. Don't they deserve a robust capability for these?

• Technology adoption - We often think of an SMB as Main Street, or the 'late majority' waiting for 'the kinks' to get out of the emerging technologies. However, they can be amazingly progressive when dealing with their core business concerns. I have had clients with pretty bland accounting software packages, but the latest warehouse equipment. Or retailers with great POS systems, great inventory management, and just plain bad purchasing systems.

Right! But how does that play out on the ERP solution provider side?

Read Full Article

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Logistics ERP & Enterprise Systems Supply Chain Finance & Revenue Management Technology Business Strategy Alignment Global Supply Chain Management Quality & Metrics
KEYWORDS Business Strategy Alignment ERP & Enterprise Systems Global Supply Chain Management Logistics Quality & Metrics SC Finance & Revenue Management Supply Chain Analysis & Consulting Technology
  • Related Articles

    Have ERP Vendors Yet to Really Penetrate World of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses?

    When Things Are Bad, Can You Afford to Innovate? When They Are Good, Do You Need to Innovate?

Ann Grackin, CEO, ChainLink Research

RFID: On the Rise Again

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Cash

    Why Private Equity Investors Are Targeting the Chaotic Supply Chain Sector

    Logistics
  • delivering package

    How Does Visibility Translate Into Trust in Deliveries?

    Last Mile Delivery
  • Fastest Electric Car Chargers Waiting for Batteries to Catch Up

    Podcast | Why Automakers Won’t Meet EV Production Targets

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • Crowdsourced Delivery Is Here to Stay

    Today’s Last-Mile Delivery Must-Haves

    Logistics
  • Port of Los Angeles

    Another Month of High Volume at Port of L.A., While Exports Continue to Fall

    Global Gateways

Digital Edition

Scb august 2022 sm

100 Great Supply Chain Partners of 2022

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • Returns Management SaaS Saves Retail Giant $4 Million Monthly

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics CoEnterprise
Data Capture E2open Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Inmar Keelvar Kinaxis
Korber Liberty SBF Locus Robotics
Logility Lucas Systems Nvidia
Old Dominion ORTEC Parsyl
PMMI QIMA Redwood Logistics
Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Verity Verusen  
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing