Why you Should ask ERP Vendors about their Support Offering
By Johnny Nugent
We've noticed a recent trend in our conversations with sales prospects regarding the support offerings of many of the big name ERP vendors - they are sending their support and response centers overseas. Why? Since we don't do that here at VISIBILITY I can only venture a guess that the big ERP vendors feel that once they earn your business and collect their money they can cut their costs and increase profits by providing an inferior support offering overseas.
If you're looking at ERP vendors you may be asking yourself why should I care about my ERP vendor's support offering? You might be thinking all that matters is whether the product functionality meets your business requirements and has a visually appealing user interface. I'm going to tell you why you should care about support.
When you buy an ERP system it's not just for the 5, 10, 15, or more decision makers that sit in the conference room during the vendor search process reviewing demos, asking questions, and deciding whether the ERP software being presented best meets your business needs. Rather, it's the tens, hundreds, or thousands of employees who make your company run effectively and are the end users of the ERP software product you select to whom support matters. They are the ones on the shop floor or sitting in AR or AP who need quick answers to their questions and solutions to the problems they encounter.
Your employees don't have time or energy to deal with robots on the other end of the support line - think of all the times you've yelled "REPRESENTATIVE" when you get an automated voice on the other end of the phone (no fun at all). They also don't want to speak with someone with no knowledge of manufacturing, their business, or the ERP product they are supposed to be servicing. Sounds like a terrible experience for your employees and one that ends up wasting their time and costing your company money while they struggle to get the answers they need from the ERP vendor that is supposed to be servicing and supporting YOU. After all, you're paying for that support.
At VISIBILITY we take our support offering seriously. We believe that when we earn a customer's business we have a responsibility to provide them with the best support and Response Center on the ERP market. Our Response Center has an average tenure of about 15 years with VISIBILITY. When you call, you will get a resource that can quickly assess and solve your issue. They will be an actual person who is a VISIBILITY employee who sits in one of our 2 offices (US or UK) and who is a valued member of our team. Our Response Center team consists of experts in manufacturing and ERP. They will get to know you and your colleagues and develop a relationship with your team. They will spend time with you and your team at the annual VISIBILITY Customer Conference.
Our support offering is unique and unmatched. At VISIBILITY, relationships matter, the support you receive from your ERP vendor matters, and you and your end users matter. And as our customers will attest to, we pride ourselves on stellar customer support. So when you are looking at new ERP systems, be sure to closely examine the support offering of each and check out VISIBILITY.
