What would you say are the key challenges partners face in their daily business?
When we started developing the first Cloud App nearly 2 years ago, our company had a solid understanding of SAP Business One. This is because we have been a leader in the SAP Business One solution segment for many years.
We knew that having products that meet the needs of end customers using SAP Business One was not enough.
It was necessary to deliver much value to the partners in the ecosystem. The offer of complementary solutions to SAP Business One would leverage ERP sales and not a risk factor for projects.
As a good product team, we did our homework, researching the main pains of partners in the sales cycle and implementing SAP Business One.
So, we did a series of interviews with partners of different sizes, regions, and business strategies. After many interviews, some patterns have emerged. We can say that sales, implementation, and support teams have their specific challenges.
We had many interviews and conversations with different partners and always faced the same issues that block their daily business.
- Sales: ERPs have functional gaps, and it is challenging to close a deal without complementary solutions.
- Implementation: Add-ons might increase time, complexity, and risks to implementations, leading to reduced profitability.
- Support: Learning and managing multiple add-ons in different versions takes time. The upgrade process brings risks to their customers.
How does Cloud Apps address these issues, and how would you describe the added value?
Our goal with Cloud Apps is to provide partners with scalable cloud applications that result in satisfying customer relations, effortless implementations, and minimal support requirements.
It is necessary to develop effective solutions and, at the same time, easy to configure and use.
A critical factor in this result is adopting a modern approach to product development that gives as much importance to the discovery process as it does to deliver working software.
Before writing a line of code, we conduct research and validation with customers and partners so that our solutions are valuable to them. We continue this feedback loop throughout the software development lifecycle by monitoring customer perceptions and behavioral changes toward their existing practices.
In addition, we have a talented team of engineers and designers who develop pleasant and straightforward products.
A solution developed this way can make the sales process go fluidly and quickly, helping partners close more SAP Business One deals.
After all when you don’t have to convince a potential customer on why this solution is valuable. It’s pretty straightforward.
Finally, ease of use makes a difference during implementation. Consultants set up applications in just a few hours, dramatically reducing project issues.
Partner support is a complicated process, made more so by monitoring and using several complex applications. Easy-to-use solutions are essential to improve customer satisfaction with support.
If you had to describe Cloud Apps in one sentence, what would it be?
A suite of lean cloud applications for SAP Business One that is role-based, quick to set up, and easy to use.
How does Cloud Apps fit into Boyum IT’s general product strategy?
Above all, Cloud Apps is a technological platform. We already have three solutions developed with this technology:
- Build: Product Development Management
- Produce: Production Order Processing
- Inspect: Quality Inspection Management
…and many more will come.
Implementing an ERP can be burdensome on the customer, and they should invest wisely to maintain their solution.
Nonetheless, this is no excuse for stagnating innovation because it demands constant examination to reach new heights.
For this reason, Cloud Apps can be used by any SAP Business One customer, even those with OnPremise installations.
Thus, we enable a hybrid solution concept, maximizing the return on investment in solutions already implemented and allowing access to innovative cloud-based solutions.
It’s the best of both worlds!
This hybrid approach is advantageous for partners. They can deliver value and innovation to new and existing customers, generating opportunities across the entire customer portfolio.
When we talk about a role-based approach, can you tell us something about the products and the target audience/ (jobs it can solve).
Before thinking about any product or feature, we use the discovery process to map the objectives of a particular professional role, which we define as user personas.
These user objectives are called “jobs-to-be-done,” a concept popularized by the late Professor Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School.
Thus, with the mapping of the primary jobs and understanding the user persona’s pains during the execution of the job, we can develop solutions that address real needs and effectively.
Inspect – a Quality Inspection Management
Role: Quality Manager
- Plan Inspections
- Monitor Inspections
- Analyze Inspection Results
Role: Quality Inspector
- Execute Inspections
- Issue Inspection Certificates
Likewise, Build is developed for Product Managers who need to carry out “jobs” related to product development. Produce is a solution for Production Managers and Shop floor – operators, covering “jobs” on Production Order Processing.
To better understand the concept of “Jobs-to-be-done”, I recommend reading the book “Competing Against Luck” by Professor Christensen.
Would you say that the products focus on specific industries?
When adopting the “jobs-to-be-done” concept, target customers’ segmentation is based on their needs and not on micro verticals or demographics.
For example, customers who need “Quality Inspection Management” are potential customers for Inspect, regardless of their particular industry.
The specifics of each company are addressed in the product implementation. For example, how Inspection Plans are created, the quality levels required, the test types, etc.
Of course, customers who are already quite mature in their verticals may require broader solutions. For them, we have products such as Beas Manufacturing and Produmex WMS, which may be better suited to these specific industry scenarios.
Earlier, you mentioned the complexity and learning curve of robust add-ons. How much time do partners have to invest in consultant training, configuration, and user training?
Everything is done in just a single day. Training is based on e-learning lasting less than 2 hours.
Application setup takes less between 1 and 2 hours. As the primary data objects are automatically synchronized with SAP Business One, there is no data migration!
In addition, there are quality materials to help partners with their pre-sales and product demonstrations.
We are talking about lean applications for SAP Business One. Are there any technical requirements to use the applications, and is it essential to run SAP in the cloud?
Customers must have an SAP Business One installation.
But it doesn’t matter if it’s OnPremise, or in some cloud environment.
Works with HANA or SQL databases and any SAP Business One license, including User-based indirect access, which is way more affordable.
If I am a partner, why should I adopt this product, as this is a subscription, and I cannot see high revenue when I start selling…
Mature partners have already understood that the SAP Business One ecosystem business model depends on volume.
Even with the sale of perpetual licenses, the recurring revenue component is present, with the maintenance fee that is charged every year.
Recurring revenue is like a safety net, even in times of crisis like this pandemic.
Therefore, having a good sales process, fast implementations, and volume is essential to having a healthy business.
Rapid implementation solutions such as Cloud Apps allow partners to be more efficient in their sales and implementation operations, freeing up resources for the acquisition of new SAP customers, which is the real engine of the business.
The entry barrier is very low with Cloud Apps. It is a low-touch sales process that serves both new SAP customers and new upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
In addition, the customer’s initial commitment is small, as it is possible to start with a subscription of just 3 months.
Instead of using your sales team’s time to convince the customer about the value of a solution, let the customer use the product.
When a customer understands the value of a solution for himself, there is no lost sale.
What are the following steps to take if I want to add Cloud Apps to my portfolio?
We have a fantastic Partner Success team. Just contact your Channel Manager and say that you want to be happy with Cloud Apps.
If you are not yet a Boyum partner, send a mail to sales@boyum-it.com, and a Channel Manager will get in touch.
