In our last two posts we outlined five major reasons you should be looking at European Supply Management Solution Providers if you are a global multi-national that is buying from and selling to multiple countries. Briefly, they were:

• EU solution providers are already multi-lingual!
• EU solution providers understand the importance of locality.
• EU solution providers understand that customer priorities differ by locality.
• EU solution providers realize that, one way or the other, you have to be in Asia.
• Including EU solution providers in the mix reduces the chance that you will need two solutions.

If the EU provider, understanding the importance of locality, has opened a US office and staffed it with local staff, why shouldn’t they be in the mix. After all, if they also have:

• the functionality to meet your requirements,
• successful implementations (verified with references) in the countries you have targeted, and
• a proper localization of their software for the US market

they could be perfect for you. And when you get down to it, a number of you are probably storing your data in an ERP solution that came from Germany!

It’s no longer the case that, as it was as recently as a few years ago, a multi-national has to use a US-founded solution provider in the US and a European-founded solution provider in the EU (and maybe even the rest of the world). There are now choices in both markets that serve the globe, with companies like BravoSolution, Hubwoo, and Wallmedien being examples on the European side.

SI isn’t saying that a European provider will be the right choice for you, as there are big name US providers that have successfully gone global, including recently acquired Ariba and Emptoris, and some up-and-comers like Coupa and Iasta have added multi-lingual and localization support since their early days and are exceptional solutions for the markets they are being deployed in. What SI is saying is that you cannot strike these EU providers off the list until you have seriously reviewed them. I have seen situations where no US provider has fit the bill, and expect that this reality will continue at least until a few US providers rise to the level of Ariba and Emptoris, if not for the next decade. The only way to guarantee that you are going to get the best solution for your business is if you invite all the top players to the table, regardless of where they came from.

Alliteration aside, the reality is that if you are looking for a modern sourcing or procurement solution, not only should you not exclude the EU, if you truly want to go global, and install global, you should probably focus in on the EU solution providers before making any decision. In today’s post we continue an explanation of why.

They understand that customer priorities differ by locality.

While this could have been included in the last point, it merits its own point because priorities do differ substantially between NA and the EU. While many North American companies will often trade functionality for usability — which is why there are so many flashy solutions out there across the spectrum of business solutions that are almost void of advanced functionality where optimization and analytics are concerned, the same is not true of the EU solution providers that, after the doctor‘s heart, favour functionality over form. That’s why many of the EU (import) solutions have deeper, and broader functionality but UIs that look like they were designed five to ten years ago. (Fortunately, with customer help, this is an easy fix. It’s easy to put a new paint job on a faded corvette. It’s much harder to turn an oldsmobile into a corvette.)

One way or the other, you have to be in Asia.

If you’re a global multi-national, you’re either buying from, or selling, to Asia — if not both! Most of the EU Supply Management companies have a larger footprint in Asia than most of their counterparts in the US. The EU, close to Asia, has not only been doing business with Asia for just as long as North America, but due to their ability to support multiple languages, and locales, from day one, had an easier job moving into Asia.

It reduces the chance that you will need two solutions.

While you want Best of Breed, the last thing you want is multiple best of breed solution providers if you can get away with one. Adding the EU providers to the list increases your chances that you can find a solution provider that will meet all of your needs.

In other words, you have at least five very important reasons to be seriously considering EU solution providers. Tune in tomorrow when we’ll summarize the situation.

Alliteration aside, the reality is that if you are looking for a modern sourcing or procurement solution, not only should you not exclude the EU, if you truly want to go global, and install global, you should probably focus in on the EU solution providers before making any decision. Here’s why.

They’re already multi-lingual!

There are twenty-seven (27) member states in the EU, speaking close to two dozen languages. To do business across the EU, you need to support close to a dozen languages, and most European sourcing and procurement providers do, and have supported multiple languages since their first release. In contrast, most North American providers built up their suite supporting only one language, English, and added other languages as an after-thought. This means that only the bigger names can support multiple languages, and your selection of global providers in the US is limited.

Plus, multi-lingual is more than just translating the UI. It’s having people who speak the language – natively – to support the product and local references in the appropriate countries. If you ask ten random EU providers for a reference in Poland or Malaysia, nine will probably be able to name three off of the top of their head. In contrast, ask ten random NA providers for a reference in Poland or Malaysia, and you are likely to get a blank stare from nine of them.

They understand the importance of locality.

And the bigger providers are global. The first thing they tend to do when they want to enter a new market is open a local office. In contrast, an average North American firm will try to serve the new locale from an existing office first, and a US one if possible, with only the help of one or two local employees to assist them.

Secondly, they understand that since most transactions involve money and legal contracts, that it’s very important to localize not only the language, but the terminology in order to come off as being a professional solution put forward by a professional company. For example, in Europe it’s “article” instead of part and “position” instead of bid.

Thirdly, localization of the supplier enablement process is very important as it is often a critical factor to supplier adoption. Each locale has it’s own business and technical challenges. For example, in addition to language and terminology on the business front, an understanding of local culture is often critical to convince an uncertain or wary supplier to get onboard. An organization that is already established in the region typically has a much better understanding of culture than one that is not. Secondly, even though there are often multiple connectivity options at an organization’s disposal, some options are not applicable to some regions. Example: punch-outs in Asia.

These are just two of the reasons. Turn in tomorrow for Part II.