Growing Complexity Forcing Front Office Focus

Companies have spent considerable time, money and resources implementing enterprise backbone (ERP) systems to improve the performance of their “back office” processes (finance, manufacturing, purchasing, etc.). Companies selling complex products and services must now move their focus to the “front office” (customer sales and service). The need for this shift is driven by several trends:

Cost containment – The severity of the current global recession means that few companies are insulated from the need to contain or cut costs.

Increased competition – Technological or manufacturing excellence no longer guarantees competitive advantage. Innovative, fast-moving competitors who are more responsive to customer needs are challenging market leaders.

Customized products and services – Increased competition means more choice and increasing customer demands. Customers are no longer willing to buy “standard” products when they can have “exactly what they want, when they want it, for a fair price” from someone else.

Broader product offerings – Most companies are responding to these demands by extending product ranges and offering more variation and options within their products and services. But increasing product variety and complexity puts heavy demands on a sales channel that is probably already struggling to keep up with existing product and service offerings.

Shorter product life cycles – While product offerings are growing, product life cycles are shortening—a “double whammy.” Traditional product ROI models are invalidated as companies are driven to embrace the principles of Mass Customization, the profitable delivery of customized products and services at mass-production prices.

The internet – The internet makes it possible for customers to rapidly assimilate information about products and services that might meet their needs, to match them against their requirements, and to obtain prices—without ever talking to a salesperson. While sellers of more complex items have been relatively immune from this pressure, the expectations of buyers are rapidly changing.

Knowledge – Customers are more knowledgeable, and they expect knowledgeable selling. Yet few companies can afford to involve their “experts” in every sales cycle.

This is an edited excerpt from the Cincom whitepaper “Complex Selling in Today’s Global Economy.” To read the full whitepaper, visit our Resource Center at www.cincom.com/lrc.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.