Can 'Intuitive' And 'ERP' Words Be Associated? Part 2: Challenges & User Recommendations

Multi-National Product Capabilities

Also positively impacting the sales of Intuitive ERP into some dispersed markets worldwide, is its strong multi-site and multi-national product capabilities, which are atypically strong for a vendor of its stature and stronger than those of many more visible competitive products (e.g., Made2Manage, Lilly Software Associates, SoftBrands/Fourth Shift, ROI Systems, etc.). Fully multi-currency enabled, Intuitive ERP allows an unlimited number of currencies including the Euro, currency gains/losses, GL transactions, check writing and support of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Value Added Tax (VAT).

The system architecture provides a flexible personalization environment to easily modify language tables, reports and forms, while the Financial Analyst module provides report templates, multiple consolidation company structures, subsidiary data imports, inter-company reconciliation report and eliminations, adjustment entry and consolidation rule maintenance. Also, multi-language capabilities (currently supporting 13 languages) extend to the user, not just the customer.

Intuitive has long made a conscious decision not to target a direct presence in many foreign markets, and to go for product distribution mainly through partners/value added resellers (VARs). This has often proven to be advantageous to the SME's for keeping costs down, and, as selling through partners requires a higher quality of product support, and accompanying documentation. By deliberately steering clear of too ambitious expansionist policies that have hindered so many smaller software companies in the past, and by focusing on a handful of core markets, Intuitive has managed to keep itself on healthy track. Also, direct and indirect channel that have already been built in targeted countries has helped the company with product translation and localization issues, which has resulted with solid multi-national and/or localization capabilities of the product. As a good example, the company has already developed a strong market presence in the emerging China markets.

During the late 1990s, however, Intuitive, somewhat painfully like many others, realized that its target market needed more than an inexpensive and easy-to-use back office system. To that end, during the last few years, the company has, gradually, either developed in-house (primarily by web-enablement via Microsoft Terminal Server) or incorporated through the above Interact partnership a line of integrated collaborative e-business, and customer relationship management (CRM) components within its core ERP solutions.

That the depth and breadth of Intuitive ERP are on track for its target market is further indicated by SAP's Business One offering for SMEs, the result of SAP's move earlier this year when it acquired TopManage (see SAP Tries Another, Bifurcated Tack At A Small Guy). SAP Business One is targeted at companies with less than 250 employees, and includes financials, sales, procurement, banking, inventory management, costing, multi-national, and some basic CRM functionality. It also includes the impressive "drag and relate" functionality available in SAP Enterprise Portal though, but, otherwise, the resemblance of functionalities between Intuitive ERP and TopManage might be striking. SAP's co-CEO's lament over SAP R/3's complexity and functionality that has become a liability rather than an advantage in targeting (and appalling as well) SME's in the past was also noted at his SAPPHIRE keynote speech.

This is Part Two of a two-part note on Intuitive. Part One discussed recent events and the company strategy.

Challenges

Although the initiatives covered above and in Part One have, to our mind, contributed to creating increased demand and acceptance of the offering in the SME market, nevertheless, Intuitive will have to address many challenges in order to continue to thrive in this cutthroat competitive environment. The competition is flying from all directions: its peers, the Tier 1 vendors storming down the market, and even its quintessential technological partner, Microsoft's intrusion into the discrete manufacturing market via its Great Plains/Navision applications division (see Microsoft 'The Great' Poised To Conquer Mid-Market, Once and Again). Therefore, much scarcer financial resources, still developing global channel and brand recognition, and formidable competition within the market will be the challenges for the company to fend.

Moreover, although Intuitive has a notable worldwide presence, it has no local market leadership in almost any individual country nor in certain vertical segments owing to the fierce channel competition from more aggressive, better known and wealthier competitors like Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Sage/Best Software, ACCPAC, Exact Software, Epicor, and Scala to name some.

Although a young company, Intuitive ERP is installed at over 650 sites in the US, Canada, China, Mexico, UK, Australia, Thailand, South Africa and other countries around the world, and although it has customers in industries as diverse as aerospace, bicycle parts, circuit boards, software duplication, boat docks and furniture, these geographic and industrial diversities will have mainly been achieved in a more opportunistic manner during the ERP halcyon days rather than with a premeditated market targeting.

Intuitive ERP's functionality across the board, although broad and well balanced between manufacturing and financials, has not been one of the strongest in the market as the company does not exhibit much of a vertical focus. The product is well suited for general MTS/MTO/ATO jobbing manufacturing environments, with almost no support for complex/engineer-to-order (ETO) nor for lean/flow repetitive manufacturing. Given the fact that some of its competitors offer a sharp vertical focus even to the precision of six-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes within an industry (e.g., Navision and Epicor), Intuitive's above-mentioned simplicity tune may soon be emulated and loose its differentiation value. The company should, therefore, try to interest its resellers in industry specialization and provision of vertical extensions, and/or should internally vertically incline its product offering and develop industry templates, wizards and implementation methodologies to further decrease the time and expense of implementation projects. Having acknowledged this shortcoming, the company has currently been developing its first two vertical solutions high-tech/electronics and metal stamping.

Moreover, except for some individual above-mentioned features, Intuitive ERP modules do not offer distinguishing (if any) intrinsic ERP functionality (although there have been a number of readily available interfaces to third-party specialist products) even within the "native" discrete manufacturing areas (e.g., complex project management & accounting, fixed assets, cost allocation, hazardous materials reporting, forecasting, distribution requirements planning (DRP), strategic-level planning, sales & purchase contracts, field repair, plant maintenance). The same holds for the human resources (HR) and payroll modules.

Also, while company supports well multi-site financial consolidation, it is not quite the case with multi-site advanced planning & scheduling (APS) and supply-chain optimization. Technologically, the product may not be the most suitable as a solution for complex enterprises, worldwide dispersed, with strong requirements on distributed infrastructure, security and so on. Intuitive also trails these competitors in its ASP/hosting, private trade exchange (PTX) and/or collaborative role-based portal solutions strategy and delivery.

The above functional shortcomings may result in missed opportunities for enterprises that may think in a more long-term manner rather than in achieving short-term but limited benefits, and, therefore may immediately want some significant intricate functionality outside of the basic manufacturing/accounting functionality, from a sole source. Also, as some customers may appreciate a dose of flamboyance and display of power from their prospective vendors, Intuitive's stealth operation below bigger vendors' radar screen might have run is course.

User Recommendations

Intuitive's target market, general single- and multi-site and multi-national discrete manufacturing companies and their satellite subsidiaries with up to $150 million-a-year revenue range and up to 100 concurrent users per site, should consider the company's value proposition, but avoid selecting it without looking at what the other vendors have to offer. These companies generally are rapidly growing and agile but are still running their business on isolated departmental spreadsheets, have a limited IT budget/staff (with a limited IT sophistication), a conformist IT strategy (a staunch Microsoft shop), and basic manufacturing, CRM and B2B e-commerce collaboration requirements.

The industries that would most likely benefit from using its products are discrete industries with standard manufacturing requirements such as electronics and electronic machinery, industrial machinery & equipment, metal fabrication, and instruments (including medical). Multi-national and companies looking for a much broader functionality beyond traditional ERP boundaries (e.g., more intricate CRM, distribution/logistics, plant maintenance, or complex project management/engineer-to-order (ETO) functionality) from a single vendor may benefit from evaluating other products at this stage.

Also, customers outside Intutive's successful geographies may want to do their due diligence and check its regional support before moving forward. Also, question the company's executives to share their product functionality roadmap with you so that you can discern how it would coincide your future needs' pace. Due to the company's privately held nature you will have to demand its financial data on a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) basis, as to discern its corporate viability.

For very detailed information about Intutive ERP is contained in the ERP Evaluation Center at http://www.erpevaluation.com