Catalyst
International Secures French Connection with Steria
S. McVey - September
21st, 1999
Event
Summary
Catalyst International,
the $34 million Supply Chain Execution (SCE) vendor based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
has further strengthened its relationship with Steria, a large systems and services
integrator in France. Steria will be the exclusive VAR for Catalyst's WMS (Warehouse
Management System) solutions in France, providing sales, marketing, and implementation
services. The agreement follows Steria's signing of French electrical wiring
manufacturer Legrand, a new Catalyst account, earlier this year.
Market
Impact
Catalyst's
move is consistent with its strategy to expand foreign sales revenues by utilizing
a network of local Value Added Resellers (VARs). International sales for Catalyst
WMS have remained largely flat over the last three years, in part due to an
undersized direct sales force (at 14 percent of total headcount, somewhat below
the industry average of 22 percent). Deciding that further European direct sales
expansion would expose the company to high cost and risk, Catalyst has now committed
to a course that has proved effective for other vendors, especially in the ERP
market. Local resellers are able to not only sell and implement the product,
but also provide translation services (manuals, marketing materials, etc.) and
exposure to additional customer bases. In addition, developing a broad indirect
channel in the form of VARs may enable Catalyst to wrest market share from rivals
EXE Technologies and Industri-Matematik, both of whom have experienced declining
European revenues over the last two years.
User
Recommendations
Prospective
Catalyst clients should benefit from the Steria alliance, particularly those
in France. For France, Steria is an experienced, well-established mid market
integrator and brings a proven implementation methodology to the partnership,
now formalized by the recent agreement. For users elsewhere, Catalyst's use
of local VARs enables them to divert more attention (and funds) to software
development and less on consulting, a strategy that should strengthen their
Catalyst WMS product over the long term.