Helping a Midsize ERP Player Compete against the Giants

The market for SaaS-based ERP (enterprise resource planning) software is growing at a 20% annual clip. This opportunity led our client, a well-established but relatively small player, to turn to our SaaS Value Accelerator to catapult its growth.

In just a few months we helped ERPCo* develop a new business plan designed to double or even triple its revenue over five years. Using interviews, surveys, data analysis and our deep software industry expertise, we helped ERPCo design a new go-to-market strategy and dramatically upgrade its pricing practices.

ERPCo was unconventional among SaaS firms in that its sales model relied entirely on value-added resellers. VARs typically represent a range of SaaS firms. In the decade since its founding, ERPCo had never optimized its partner network nor developed a strategic plan to grow it. Nor had the company confronted the huge variances in discounting among the VARs it relied on.

Our first step in the solution was segmenting ERPCo’s existing VAR network, identifying five different partner archetypes and the characteristics that defined each. This analysis revealed both barriers to growth and opportunities for quick wins. We showed ERPCo ways to improve its VAR partner mix, mapping the internal processes and structures that could boost its VAR productivity. And we designed a process to recruit new VARs, prioritizing high-potential partners through the use of customized recruiting messages and unique growth targets.

We also helped ERPCo sharpen its focus on pricing, using our proven playbook to address the discount practices of ERPCo’s partner network. Compared to the industry giants it competes against, ERPCo had a small deal desk and an uncomplicated pricing structure. While this created advantages, it had also limited ERPCo in some instances; we provided the tools it needed to put more discipline around its discounting agreements. We built the company a dashboard that provided visibility into discounting at any given moment, instead of a single “point-in-time” view.

In addition to helping ERPCo overhaul its partner network and improve its pricing discipline, we helped its leaders analyze their technology platform and applications, to make critical strategic decisions about their product roadmap. SaaS Value Accelerator features a modular design that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of any SaaS software company. From product development and management to customer service and support, renewals, data and analytics, and key business enablers including quote-to-cash, billing, G&A and cost containment, SVA is flexible and designed to produce results quickly.

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The bulk of our engagement with ERPCo lasted six weeks, with a few additional weeks to ensure the solutions outlined above earned buy-in from the recruiting and sales teams. We addressed several other topics that were top of mind for ERPCo’s leadership, leaving the management team with a clear vision of the investments required to propel the company’s growth, and detailed execution plans to guide them every step of the way.