The Manufacturing Software Buying Process – One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward

By Sheldon Needle

This article is based on my many conversations with prospective buyers of complex ERP software and MRP software for manufacturing.

Depending on the particular operation and the applications required, many CIO’s, CFO’s and Operations Managers are totally confused about how to go about sorting out and selecting new software for their operation. They hear terms like dot net, ERP, Manufacturing Execution, Product Life Cycle, Configuration management, Cloud Solution, Web-based, web-enabled and other terms and become victims of the FUD (fear uncertainly and doubt) factor which is right where some salespeople want them to be. This article discusses why selling business application software is so fraught with confusion, delay and indecision.

One of the most inefficient and frustrating things in business is selling a complex product. Certainly this may be doubly true of business application software which involves a mysterious confluence of function, technology, human engineering, selling technique and last, but not least, the limited attention span and lack of skills of many prospective buyers.

The process one follows executing a complex project which involves a significant expenditure of funds, has to be very methodical and supported by experienced people who have done it at least a couple of times. It is the process followed during the evaluation, selection and implementation of application software that determine success or disappointment with the software purchased.

Impediments to the software buying cycle:

Today users rarely make use of experts to help them go about software selection. They think because they are successful business people, they are smart enough to do it themselves. The truth is that without serious experience they don’t usually understand what they are buying. As Socrates might say, they don’t know what they don’t know. Or, perhaps middle level staff is delegated the responsibility. They don’t really have the requisite experience but their boss thinks they are supposed to know and demands they do it anyway. This is a common scenario with technical IT or networking staff who are assigned the task of investigating business application software for the company. They are strong on technology but may only have a limited understanding of the operations side of the business.

So how does this play out in terms of the software buying process? It often comes down to the salesperson who best educates the buyer. They buy the software they are most comfortable with based on the salesperson’s approach. That does not, of course, necessarily mean it’s the best, most effective solution.

Beyond this, there is a second stage of selling that is necessary and that is to “sell” the recommendation to management. If management is not involved in the evaluation process, they are going to be suspicious of any recommendation simply because they are asked to spend a significant amount of money on something they don’t really understand. To avoid this situation, management should be phased into the project early with milestones for their involvement in the process of learning about what software can do in general as well as what particular solutions have to offer, how they compare, what they cost and the anticipated ROI for the project.

Summary Points to Remember

Use experienced people to head up the manufacturing software evaluation and selection project. If none are available, use an outside expert
Buy the software and not the salesperson
Involve the decision makers early in the project and keep them well informed as you go along
Don’t be afraid to ask questions even if you think you are supposed to know the answer
A good salesperson will be a good educator, otherwise they are not qualified to sell their product.

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