Software buyer seeks soul mate (page 2)
-- Logistics Management, 4/1/2005
Page 2 of 2 Johnny Hodges, an order fulfillment manager with Texas Instruments in Dallas, noted that he looks for a vendor that offers off-the-shelf applications that eliminate the need for customization. "We don't want to do customization," he explained in a telephone interview. "What we've discovered is, when you start customizing, your costs go up." Hodges' comments notwithstanding, price scored very low as a primary consideration when selecting a software vendor and did not even emerge as a key secondary factor. Only 3 percent of the survey takers named price as their most important consideration, tied with "service and support" and "existing vendor relationships." Claims Checks Many survey respondents who are hunting for a software partner are having trouble cutting through vendors' claims to determine the true capabilities of the packages they offer. In response to an open-ended question asking respondents to describe their biggest challenge in dealing with software suppliers, many railed against "false advertising" and unrealistic sales pitches. "Distinguishing between 'realware' and 'vaporware,'" wrote one logistics manager. "Finding a supplier that actually delivers what they promise," wrote an IT director. "Getting the software to do what's advertised," said another. Or as one reader put it, "Every software vendor thinks their software can run every type of business." Having grown wary of all the hype, logistics managers have learned to check out vendors' claims for themselves. "A lot of times software vendors come in with a sales pitch," said Hodges. "I would caution anybody to filter the sales pitch and ask the right question of the developers to truly identify the capabilities." Another common complaint: "Getting [software suppliers] to understand the unique features of our business," wrote Oleksiuk. Survey respondents also counseled their peers to take the time to check references. That includes visiting current users to authenticate vendors' claims. "Talk to other organizations that have gone through the process and make sure you don't run into the same bumps in the road they did," suggested Bill Stuebner, director of supply chain process engineering for the WMS Tool Group, an industrial distributor in the Chicago area. No matter how well buyers do their homework, software purchases still bear a degree of risk. "There's a risk associated with any software you bring in," said Stuebner. "There's no cookie-cutter approach to making sure you made the right decision." What's most important in a software vendor? A survey of Logistics Management readers found that half of software users consider providing the right features for their specific operations' needs to be the most important consideration when selecting a vendor.
Compatibility takes second place Readers said that their second most important consideration when choosing a software vendor was compatibility with existing software.
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