While taking a decision to join a project, we always follow Ultima’s main principles:
- together rather than at the expense of someone
- investments rather than expenses
- investments profitable for both partners
The practical application of these simple principles determines the following requirements for a potential project:
A: certainty in successful realization. In other words, we must be 95% sure that the system will be implemented and commissioned in accordance with the deadlines, budget and functionality that have been planned.
B: customer’s satisfaction — "as expected" and "more than expected". Return on investments is a necessary, but not sufficient condition. In addition to the pay-back of investments we can make our client happy by increasing the competitive strength, manageability, and transparence of business, opening new strategic horizons up to the reformation of an enterprise based on new principles of business-process organization.
C: our benefits. We offer both financial benefits — attractive income from a project — and (or) qualitative benefits — increase in the functionality of the system itself, extension of the «success story», attraction of prestigious and prospective clients etc.
The fulfillment of conditions A, B, and C is mandatory.
"Let’s proceed with slides"
Excerpt from one of our commercial offers from summer 2010:
7. Successful project; key factors. Mini essay.
Both parties possess the key factors of success.
We can perfectly manage the factors that are within our competence, otherwise we would not agree to participate.
The crucial factor of a project’s success (or failure) that is determined by the Client is so-called administrative leverage or political will. We can barely influence this factor.
The change of software platform is inevitably accompanied by innovations in business processes and, accordingly, in work of concrete individuals and departments. It brings severe stress for employees who have been working in a certain manner for years, let alone an unavoidable period of instability during the transition and shortly after it.
Large-scale changes affect support staff and middle management in the first place, and their involvement into the transition process is of great importance.
The change of software platform is in fact a consequence of infrastructure crisis that makes it necessary. During such crisis the political will of top management and shareholders come to the fore.
Their objective is to inform the staff about the importance of such a project and its crucial role for the company’s future.
Their task is to convince devoted employees that the new system is for the better, even though they come across a number of difficulties at the start.
Generally speaking, top management and shareholders should notice first signs of internal opposition in order to prevent employees’ sabotage, which can put an end to any important initiative.
Here we can play only a supportive role.
Thus, we wouldn’t like to work with companies, where top management does not possess political will aimed at the realization of a project.
In case IT-director (or his subordinate) is appointed responsible for the project, while the senior partner enquires about the project only once in a while in order to be informed only in the most general sense, condition A is not fulfilled in 90 % of cases.
We are also very cautious with potential clients, whose businesses are organized in a very vague way (if organized at all), but who are blindly convinced of their perfection. ( — You have a problem here and there, it’s possible to make it work and save a lot of money! — You don’t understand, it’s just a specificity of our business. Our competitors are way worse at it!).
It is universal truth that Internet Explorer has beaten all the records in amount of pornography. It is hard to imagine how many crazy business-ideas and delusional individuals an implementation consultant comes across. The following guy is definitely not the sharpest tool in the box:
— Are you absolutely sure that you need a full-blown internet-shop for selling sunflower seeds across Russia? We can do anything for your money, but we are convinced that it’s going to be a waste of resources.
— What are you talking about? I sell sunflower seeds for many years, they are unique, best in Europe. There’s no one who’d know more about sunflower seeds. In order to expand my business I’d also love to use a bonus-system with MLM-effect. That’s exactly what I need to conquer CIS market!
Do you think I’m joking? No. To be discreet we’ve used sunflower seeds instead of another product, as popular among internet-retailers.
As they say: Many complain about bad health, but no one complains about feeble mind.
Taking into consideration Russia’s chronic underdevelopment as compared to the top countries in the contemporary economy, such examples of even greater ignorance make us recall the saying about the one-eyed man in the country of the blind.
"Specificity of business"? It doesn’t exist
As well as happy families resemble one another (thanks to Tolstoy for the quote), leading companies are similar in the principles of their organization. The more dissimilar organization is, the further is a company from the leading position (Microsoft, Nokia — from the nearest future).
Losers are destined to talk about "specificity". Each in his or her own way, in accordance with the prediction of the writer.
The implementation of Ultima ERP in such companies is theoretically possible, but without fulfilling condition B: the programme is only a tool, nothing more.
A person, who can’t drive, won’t start driving even if provided with informative steerage, comfortable pneumatic suspension, and xenon.
A mess computerized even with the help of the best ERP-system, won’t stop being a mess and will generate entropy with the double force.
High-quality tools, whether it is a machine, an assembly line, a towing car, a locomotive, a hammer, or a pair of compasses, cannot be cheap.
Ultima ERP is not an exception.
Complex equipment requires competent maintenance, especially if it is subject to reconfiguration or changes in design in order to increase its functionality.
Ultima ERP is not an exception.
While buying complex and expensive equipment, you expect that additional profit received from its work will exceed total expenses on its purchase and maintenance for the whole service period. If you don’t have enough funds or if you are not sure that it pays back, it’s not rational to take such a step.
Ultima ERP... well, you already know it.
That’s why we are not interested in potential clients that beg us for some "discounts", because "we are a small company, and we don’t have much money" or ask to "do it for free, it’s not that hard after all".
The joke on the topic:
"I would like to buy Mercedes for one thousand dollars.
But no one wants to sell it".
Neither do we like bribe-takers.
First, because we don’t bribe; second, in case a bribe is the only way to motivate a responsible employee of a client, it’s quite naïve to expect the fulfillment of conditions ABC.
We don’t bribe, because *
The above implies that we don’t work with governmental and near-governmental organizations and we are not planning to do it in the nearest future.
As for the rest — welcome.
Some say that our strategy consists in "black PR" and flinging dirt at our competitors. The say good can never come out of evil etc. However, we haven’t seen any evidence-based comments with the reference to our concrete words. It would be surprising to see any of such.
Which means that those people are wrong.
First, our strategy is simply "telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth". We are not trying to be original here. But indeed we are saying "the whole truth".
Second, we do not chase the happiness based on fraud, theft and use of confidence.
The synopsis of comparative advantages of the leading companies in the sphere of ERP-systems mentions one of the basic factors of their attractiveness: «big budget, big bribe». It is quite easy to check if the statement is true.
So, if you can pass as a representative of an organization, which, from the point of view of SAP installer, can pay a million dollars (or more) for the project, express your interest by sending a message or calling and ordering a presentation. The main rule of the experiment: present yourself as IT-director or someone inferior and speak on your behalf, let them know that the decision depends on you. Or on the way you present it to the management that provides funding, there’s basically no difference.
In 40% of cases you will get a veiled bribe offer at the second meeting, in 60 % — immediately.
The amount of bribe depends on the details of the potential project and your communication skills.
Good advice: don’t agree to less than 20 % of the license costs, 40 % is perfect.
If you approach the issue wisely and (according to the win-win strategy) offer the sales agent a share in the bribe, the possibility of getting a maximal bribe will double. Don’t forget that you might need to have a drink together in order to reach a necessary level of intimacy. Talking of drinks, leaders in ERP-systems installation are quite skilled here.
As a result you will have enough information to think about the real price of the famous product.
By the way: don’t forget to subtract multi-billion expenses on marketing in the form of endless seminars/conferences (meaning: parties + brainwashing) and other events with the same added value for the end-user from those millions that the reputable leader wants to get from you. The list of such events is freely accessible on the websites of vendors.
Excerpts from the field-specific article in "Vedomosti":
"The crisis has pushed Russian companies to launch programs for business transformation", explains he [general director SAP CIS —Ultima’s comment]. Huge investments in IT were made by Gazprom, Rosatom, Sberbank, Aeroflot, Rosneft, Severstal, Tatneft, Megapolis.
Here they are, innovative leaders of the efficient Russian economy and important SAP clients!
Read on and admire:
As an employee of one SAP’s competitors suspects, SAP might have overtaken the market thanks to the five-year contract with Gasprom. According to the estimates of two IT-companies, the value of this contract is close to 100 ml euro.
"Might". Definitely.
I don’t think that any of the readers cherish illusions when it comes to the real business goals of the company that controls national assets.
But we are convinced that SAP Company fearlessly resists bribers and selflessly struggles for the modernization of the Russian sovereign kleptocracy. Together with Siemens and Daimler.
"- Say no to drinking and bribery!", — cried SAP, chasing effective managers away from the feeder.
As they say, "it’s too late to suspect, when you are fairly sure".
Nothing personal.
