In Part III, where we assumed that you needed to find a new solution, be it a partial best-of-breed (BoB) or a full supply suite (FuSS), we discussed the critical question that you needed to answer – do you need a point solution to fill a gap or do you need suite to modernize your process and capabilities?

In yesterday’s post, we assumed that you answered the question and determined that you needed a point best-of-breed (BoB) solution to fill a gap in your solution foot-print. In today’s post, we assume that you determined that you need an end-to-end full supply suite (FuSS) to deal with your supply issues.

(04) What are the critical functions that the solution must have?

In particular, as we are dealing with FuSS, we need to ask:

  (04.1)Are there any integration points?
  (04.2)If integration is required, who can do the integration and what is the timeframe?
  (04.3)What data formats need to be supported for supplier collaboration?
  (04.4)Is the solution a foundation for another solution? Can it be extended / integrated as needed?
  (04.5)Are there any known advantages or disadvantages to hosted or SaaS?
  (04.6)Who should support the solution?
  (04.7)What are the training and support options?
  (04.8)What are the normal use-cases that cover normal, and 80% of, expected usage?
  (04.9)Is the vendor likely to be around supporting this solution in the long term?

  (04.1)Are there any integration points?
Do we need to integrate with an ERP, MRP, or suite solution for another supply chain process? E.g. A sourcing platform may need to suck in the transactional data from an e-Procurement platform for spend analysis and spit the contracts out into the platform so that m-way matching can occur against each requisition before it is made and each invoice before it is paid. Similarly, a logistics platform may need to suck in requisitions and spit out inventory levels / goods receipts.

  (04.2)If integration is required, who can do the integration and what is the timeframe?
Can it be done in-house, by a vendor, or will a third-party be required? How long is it likely to take? (If integration will take 3 months, then a solution MUST be selected 3 months before the suite is needed.)

  (04.3)What data formats need to be supported for supplier collaboration?
What formats are you currently accepting supplier data in? What formats do you need to accept to get more suppliers online? Where is the electronic marketplace going?

  (04.4)Is the solution a foundation for another solution? Can it be extended / integrated as needed?
Are you on the market for a procurement suite with the intention that you will be supplementing it with a sourcing suite at a later time, or vice versa? Are you planning to build your entire supply chain foot around a market-leading e-Sourcing platform? Know the answers to these questions up front — don’t be asking them after the fact!

  (04.5)Are there any known advantages or disadvantages to hosted or SaaS?
As with the BoB discussion, if your organization employes enhanced security protocols, does not have the resources to support a system in-house, etc., these restrictions should be known in advance of system selection.

  (04.6)Who should support the solution?
You? The vendor? A third-party? Or does it not matter?

  (04.7)What training and support options are availble to you or will be required?
If there is no in-house expertise on the type of solution the organization is searching for, expertise on the process and the platform will be required. If there is in-house expertise on the process, then only expertise on the solution will be required. In addition, are there individuals who can be trained as trainers, or will external resources be required to train new users on a regular basis? If the latter case, you will need a vendor with a consulting/training team, or one that is big enough that third parties offer that trainig.

  (04.8)What are the normal use-cases that cover normal, and 80% of, expected usage? And what are the abnormal use-cases that cover high-ROI scenarios in the remaining 20% of scenarios?
Just like you should never go to market for BoB solution without knowing the typical and atypical use cases you need to support, you should never, ever go to market for a FuSS solution without knowing the typical and atypical use cases you need to support! Otherwise, the ROI that you expected may not materialize.

  (04.9)Is the vendor likely to be around supporting this solution in the long term?
Whereas this is not that critical for a BoB solution, as you can always replace it in a few years if need be, this is very critical for a platform solution as you know you will be stuck with the solution for at least 5 years, if not 7 or 10 — even if it’s SaaS, because the bigger the solution footprint, the longer it takes to get it replaced in an organization. So you better make sure that the vendor is stable and likely to be for years to come.