Standard software - continued
26 January 2012
It’s not the first time that I’ve written about this, but the subject is important enough to warrant it: standard software. We at Sofon believe deep down to the fibre of our being that complex configuration and calculation issues can only be solved with standard software. That may sound contradictory. After all, don’t many companies calculate and configure in their own unique method? And doesn’t that require unique, custom-made sales support software? We dare to differ.
Custom software
Custom software seems nice. It looks (hopefully) exactly how you wanted it to at the start of the project. But that doesn't last long. As soon as the world around you, your products and your prices start to change, that’s when you start to feel the squeeze. Your custom builder hadn’t taken that into account. The result is that your lovely custom software must now be converted. And that, in turn, once again requires software developers. And money. And time – a great deal of time.
Configure, Price, Quote Application Suite
“But”, you wonder, “if I purchase a Configure, Price, Quote Application Suite (as the Gartner Group so elegantly phrases it), I won’t run into that same problem, right? After all, aren’t those standard packages as well?” If only that were so! The reality is that many of these packages are, in fact, nothing more than a framework based upon which the custom software must be built. Many of these solutions are unable to support the sale of your complex product or service without requiring programmers. As a result, sooner or later you run into the same problems as with 100% custom software.
True standard software
Sofon is a truly standard software package for Guided Selling! That means that we can support your product, your project, your quotation document and your calculation rules without the need to programme your software code. For that, we have developed the Sofon Studio – a “zero coding” modelling environment, with which users can model products without programming knowledge. This also means that all of our customers use the same Sofon software – whether they sell machines, trailers, medical systems or financial services.
Advantages
What does this mean for you? Faster implementation, no dependence on scarce IT resources, and above all: faster modification of the system to changed circumstances. In other words: custom software is a millstone around your neck that will cause you to lose ground. Sofon Guided Selling accelerates the sales process and increases your advantage over the competition. If you ask us, the choice is simple!
Otto van der Tang is Managing Director at Sofon - supplier of sales support software. As Otto has a lot of contact with clients, he has a clear insight into how companies that deliver customer-specific products and services can realize improvements within their sales and quotation process.
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