Deloitte
& Touche Alliance with SynQuest Largely Symbolic
S. McVey - November 24, 1999
Event
Summary
On November 15, Deloitte & Touche announced it had named SynQuest, Inc. a preferred
advanced planning and scheduling (APS) partner. Under the terms of the agreement,
Deloitte & Touche will provide supply chain redesign services in conjunction
with SynQuest supply chain suite implementations. Immediate plans call for Deloitte
& Touche to install the SynQuest supply chain software at the Solutions e-Business
Center in Cincinnati and roll out the solution to demo environments throughout
the U.S. In addition, Deloitte & Touche associates will be trained on the SynQuest
Optimal Performance Path methodology, an implementation roadmap that identifies
supply chain improvement opportunities and aligns them with key business goals.
SynQuest and Deloitte & Touche are currently engaged on several joint implementations.
- Business Wire, 11/15/99.
Market
Impact
Although SynQuest and Deloitte have worked together on past projects, their
recent agreement will involve installing SynQuest's applications at D&T facilities
that offer demonstrations of a variety of enterprise application software packages.
This will translate to higher visibility for SynQuest among top level managers
who make buying decisions and are the primary targets for D&T's solution centers.
The
move is the latest in SynQuest's efforts to build stronger alliances with complementary
software vendors, platform providers, and systems integrators. In September,
J. D. Edwards named SynQuest a preferred complementary vendor platform (See
TEC news Analysis article: "J.
D. Edwards names SynQuest Preferred Solution" September 10th, 1999). More
recently, IBM announced that it would help SynQuest port its Manufacturing Management
software to the AS/400 platform (See TEC News Analysis article, "IBM
and SynQuest Sign AS/400 Pact" November 4th, 1999), in exchange for loading
the software on its servers. These relationships have the potential to dramatically
increase the size of SynQuest's indirect channel. Because the D&T deal does
not require a strong commitment from either party, it is unlikely to produce
significant benefits for SynQuest, apart from heightened exposure in the press
and D&T solution centers.
User
Recommendations
Agreements like that between D&T and SynQuest tend to be largely of symbolic
value, and users interested in SynQuest's supply chain suite should not dump
their current business consulting partner for Deloitte & Touche. Likewise, companies
that maintain relationships with D&T should not eliminate all APS packages other
than SynQuest from their short lists. Users should conduct thorough investigations
of a number of service providers and avoid picking one simply because of an
agreement with no demonstrated benefit. Service providers should be asked to
present client references that can comment on the provider's expertise in implementing
a particular software package. Users should also evaluate other parts of agreements
to see whether they involve a training and/or implementation certification process
and discounts on joint implementation services.