SSA attacks the supply chain

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 11/1/2004

Three years ago, enterprise resource planning (ERP) system provider SSA Global (312-258-6000, www.ssaglobal.com) looked into a crystal ball and predicted that its future lay in providing an end-to-end solution with especially rich supply chain functionality.

That future is here now, said Jim Handy, president of strategic solutions at the software provider, to attendees at SSA's annual user group meeting.

"Three years ago, ERP systems were not selling and the market was shrinking," said Handy. "In order to grow our company at the rate we wanted, we had to have a richer portfolio of products, especially in supply chain management."

Since then, SSA Global has purchased several down-and-out ERP competitors, including Baan. They have also added best-of-breed supply chain providers like EXE for warehouse management (WMS) and added transportation management (TMS) with the acquisition of Arzoon.

The result: annual revenues of $630 million, up from $120 million just 3½ years ago.

Why is supply chain management so important to SSA and its customers? "Margins are tight, and there's not a lot of pricing power out there," Handy said. "So our customers have to squeeze costs out of the system. Supply chain applications like WMS and TMS allow that."

Handy added that by acquiring and integrating best-of-breed providers like EXE, the company can take a two-pronged approach to the market and to its customers.

"Eighty-five percent of our pipeline right now is being generated by selling new strategic solutions to our existing base," Handy said. "But while the CIOs want one-stop shopping and one phone call to resolve issues, the operations people are looking for best-of-breed functionality, which we can deliver.

We're also building a stand-alone, best-of-breed sales strategy to go after the rest of the market."