CRM survey 2008

November 2008 from CAmagazine – “What jumps off the page in the results is that SaaS (Software as a Service) dominates over the licence-based approach to software deployment…

Also striking in the results is the huge variability in price and functionality. The average SaaS cost per user per month ranges from $6 to $89, with the average at $45…”

Implementation is all about people

October 2008 from CAmagazine – “It should be no surprise that all projects depend on people not only outside, but also inside, the organization. Nevertheless, many organizations think they just need to find a system with a good fit, and they are off to the races. Unfortunately they stumble out of the starting block and sometimes never finish. What they really need is the right people at the right time…” This article also discusses responsibilities of the steering committee, project manager and subject matter experts as well as how much effort is required.

Workday: The Next Software Power?

August 19, 2008 from BusinessWeek – “Ever since veteran software entrepreneur Dave Duffield launched his new startup, Workday, a year and a half ago, people have wondered if it could become the next Salesforce.com (CRM). Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com's chief executive, had shaken up the customer-relationship management software world and created a company with a market cap of $8 billion with an online service that replaces expensive and complex traditional software packages. Could Duffield and Workday do the same? Just now, there's growing evidence they can...”

180 View – We think that it’s early days for Workday that will eventually challenge other products more than Salesforce including NetSuite and SAP Business ByDesign. Salesforce is primarily CRM and WorkDay includes accounting and HR. What’s interesting is that there is a lot of investment in the next generation of ERP, CRM, HR… systems using SaaS (Software as a Service).

Epicor 9: The Accomplishment That Eluded Microsoft and Oracle

September 2008 – “Once upon a time, Microsoft embarked on Project Green, an ambitious undertaking designed to take the best of its four ERP systems and converge them into a single code base, albeit a fifth product.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, Oracle set off on Project Fusion. This was to be the lunar landing of convergence, melding the best of Oracle, PeopleSoft, and J.D. Edwards into the Apollo of enterprise applications.

Today, Project Green lives on as a set of design principles for future application development. The dream of one product is long past the REM stage.

Project Fusion has become the service-oriented architecture (SOA) framework for connecting the original Fusion ERP components with the subsequent acquisitions (such as Agile, BEA, Demantra, G-Log, Hyperion, Retek, Siebel, and the rest). Given that it’s likely that Oracle has other application purchases in mind, it might have been unrealistic to expect the company to ever deliver one master software suite…”

180 View – Congratulations to Epicor for doing what eluded Microsoft and Oracle. We anticipate that Epicor 9 will appeal more to new customers than existing ones. When merging/fusing different products, the developer’s goal is to take the “best” features from each system. But “best” is a subjective term. Existing customers may rely on functionality that is not considered “best”. As well, existing customers may have customized their system and these customizations may have to be redone.

The Pragmatist's Guide to Best Practices

August 18, 2008 from Business Finance – “Are you suffering from best practicism? There is no doubt that best practices can be helpful. Why wouldn't an organization want to learn from others who've been down a similar path, as this can help to avoid costly mistakes and may yield quicker results. But taken too far, the pursuit of best practices can replace independent thought and actually have deleterious impacts on an organization. When this occurs, an organization is afflicted with what we call best practicism -- the errant belief that replicating other organizations' processes, strategies, and ideas is the route to success…

180 View – We often hear from consultants and vendors that they offer best practices. This article gives you a few reasons to be skeptical. Other causes for concern not mentioned in the article are applying best practices to organizations very different in size or to business processes that provide competitive advantage. We have written an article on Best Practices for CAmagazine that will be published in a couple of months.

A Study on Inventory Visibility Among Logistics Professionals

August 2008 from Logistics Management – “In July, 2008, logistics professionals were studied to better understand how companies track their inventory. Specifically, the research evaluates:
· Practices employed for tracking shipments
· Involvement in vendor managed inventory (VMI) programs
· The most effective reporting systems”

180 View – There are a few tidbits that would interest logisticians such as “The majority of logistics departments are currently tracking their inventory through their carriers’ websites. In addition, roughly one out of four either utilizes an internally-developed tracking tool or maintains inventory visibility through their ERP solution.” It’s hard to believe that only one out of four has inventory visibility.

Project Management Lite: Basecamp and Wrike

July 23, 2008 from PCWorld – “As a small business grows, coordinating the work among employees becomes more important. Achieving a business objective, such as completing a client project on time, often requires the skills of more than one person. A business manager must allocate tasks to different team members and monitor results to ensure everyone stays on track.
Project management software aims to help organize teamwork. Microsoft Project is one of the best-known project management apps, but not every business requires its power. A new generation of simpler, Web-based services can do the job…”

180 View – We have not tried either of the systems discussed in the article, but if our friend Richard Morochove (the writer if the article) says they’re good, then you should check them out if the products are applicable to your business.

Don’t Get Hung Up on Marketers: National Do Not Call List Is in Effect

October 20, 2008 from the Financial Post – “On September 30, 2008, Canada’s National Do Not Call List (DNCL) went into effect. As of that date, anyone can register home phone lines and cell numbers so that telemarketers can no longer call or fax to those numbers. Registration is fast and easy, online at www.LNNTE-DNCL.gc.ca or by calling the toll-free numbers 1-866-580-3625 or 1-888-DNCL-TTY (1-888-362-5889).

Registering one’s numbers means three years of protection, starting 30 days after the registration. There are companies that are initially exempt from having the DNCL apply to them, but if they contact you, they must abide by your stated wishes to be taken off their list.

Hefty fines apply to companies who ignore the list. Finally, homeowners and home-based companies have recourse against telemarketers who infringe on their home lives and work days… ”

180 View (written by Esther Friedberg Karp) - The National Do Not Call List (DNCL) may actually work. I recently received a call from a telemarketer (less than 30 days had elapsed since I had registered my home number). I asked to be taken off their list. Promptly, I was asked if there were any other numbers in my home I wanted removed. I was also given the contact information for the company should I need to lodge a complaint. Keep in mind that new phone numbers have to be added to the registration, and that the protection lasts only three years. It’s worth visiting the website once every three years to get this kind of protection. Best of all, junk faxes may very well become a thing of the past.

Learn from the top 5 hiring mistakes

September 11, 2008 from Canadian Business – “As a business owner or manager, you know how tough it is these days to recruit the right people and keep them happy so they’ll stick around. The war for talent rages on, even if a bit less intensively in the past few months due to the slowing economy...”

180 View (written by Lawrence Young) – In this article, the author shares with us the five most common hiring mistakes made by companies. According to his experience as a human resource strategist and recruiter, these mistakes are made repeatedly, and they can be somewhat easily avoided.
The article points out that the five most hiring mistakes made are:
• Human resource strategy is lacking
• A poor ‘candidate experience’ is offered
• The hiring process begins when there is a vacancy
• The interviewer fails to create some ‘buzz’
• Managers aren’t properly taught how to hire
Gagne then gives us some practical advice on how to avoid making each of these five mistakes. So if you find yourself making the same hiring mistakes over and over again, this article is a must read for you.

As I stated in the past two issues of 180 Systems’ News & Views, it never ceases to amaze me how much money companies invest in inventory, plant and equipment, and technology, yet how little they invest in human resource management, especially in the hiring process.

Something Personal

I (Michael Burns) do most of the work in sending you our newsletter. We did not send our newsletter last month as I was in the hospital for 4 weeks, and have been recovering since then. I am making good progress and have begun working again. Working for me is great therapy as I enjoy what I do.

I have had lots of time to contemplate the universe while not well, and you would think that I would be able to share great words of wisdom. Alas, I can’t tell you anything that you don’t already know such as being thankful for health, family and friends. Unfortunately, most of us are so caught up in day-to-day living that we don’t show our appreciation or spend much time with those people we care about. Most of us will get angry over small things and miss the big picture. Don’t wait for a serious health problem to show your appreciation, and to spend quality time with family and good friends.