This is a repost and reprise of a series that last ran (for the second time) in 2015. It’s as relevant, and important, today as it was then, if not more so, thanks to the I2O Hype and AI BS!

Despite claims to the contrary, you are not stuck being a sap or following prophecies from an ethylene-gas inhaling delphi. You do have options. Acquisitions might have some analysts in a tizzy, but you only need to remember one thing. Don’t Panic.

It’s been over a decade since the acquisitions of Ariba & Emptoris, which kicked the M&A mania in our space into super high gear for the first time.
They were not the only best-of-breed suite game in town then, and they certainly aren’t the only best-of-breed game in town now, especially since the latter was retired by IBM a mere five years after acquisition. In fact, for many companies that have been acquired in our space over the years, SI would argue that they are not even in the best-of-breed category as the lengthy integration cycles required to integrate them into their acquirer’s platforms slowed down development and now there are only a few module or functions left that, in SI’s opinion, are still best-of-breed. However, there are lots of other options, and these options exist on both sides of what the Brits call the pond. (For you Americans, that’s the Atlantic Ocean.)

Best of Breed vendors eat, sleep, and drink sourcing, procurement, and supply management
Unlike do-it-all suites or ERP vendors, best-of-breed supply management vendors are focused entirely on a critical supply management process and, as a result, they tend to be much better at it than do-it-all or ERP vendors, especially supplier enablement, which we all know fuels the e-procurement benefits engine. (And whatever you do, don’t confuse supplier enablement with supplier experience or confuse vendor marketing with actual supplier experience — some vendors who market supplier experience actually excel at the working with the supplier experience which means the platform makes buyers happy, but suppliers [much] less so.)

Best of Breed on an ERP backbone can offer significant advantages

• Best of Breed providers often know the strengths and weaknesses of ERP systems they are replacing (or augmenting) better than the consulting implementation partners, who care more about if they can weasel their way into long-term strategy consulting than a successful implementation. (For example, there are now a number of vendors with over 100 customer SAP implementations who know the system way better than a Big 5 consultant on his second implementation project ever will.)
• Best of Breed providers have enabled hundreds of thousand of suppliers, maybe more, over the years … in all regions of the world … your 13,470 suppliers aren’t going to make them flinch (and they will be faster and cost less, because once again, they, or their carefully selected and trained integration partners, have been there, done that … a few hundred or thousand times.)
• Best of Breed provider’s customers are all former ERP e-procurement / consulting implementation customers … that’s right, most of whom have already failed using the ERP/consultant approach, spent the millions, got 7 punch-outs and 11 catalogs implemented … now they spend hundreds of thousands and get … well, you already know … actual results and benefits. And the Best of Breed learns from those customers!
• Best of Breed providers have to be better than the ERP or broad portfolio providers, because they can’t fall back on their CRM sales or app server license revenue if they don’t deliver.
• And because of all of this, Best of Breed providers have way more references than the ERP providers. Those big ERP guys based in Germany have a handful of significant e-procurement references at best … because they’ve already lost most to specialist providers with better systems.
• Best of Breed providers’ SaaS-type offerings and supplier networks minimize or eliminate the need for your IT department or external consultants to be involved, so they implement faster and less expensively
• The most successful Best of Breed providers have service organizations or carefully selected service partners around the globe to assist with implementations and provide stability.
• Best of Breed providers fill in the gaps where ERP falls short. ERP may try, but it is not all-in-one and they are usually years or more (and sometimes a decade) behind the Best-of-Breeds functionality-wise.
• Best of Breed works and they have the client stories to prove it. Follow SI’s advice, verify their offerings, check their references, and find the right one for you.
• Best of Breed will help your SUM (Spend Under Management) soar.

Consider your options carefully. A Best of Breed solution on your ERP backbone might be the best decision you can make.