Earl,
What do you suggest? Central registry of suppliers? Customers hire
experienced consultants who know supplier requirements? David Letterman's
Top Ten list of expensive clients? If the client was bad enough people
would get burned and word would get around. Like that Big Mac that gave
you a stomach ache. Yeah those supplier software vendor letters are
misleading.
You offer the perfect example. Actually you are the customer of
McDonalds and the fast food industry. If you walked in asking for Prime
Rib they would tell you to take a hike. If you asked for extra mayo like
Wendy's does they would give it to you.
So if every supplier denied a customer special software request it
would work :). How many times I've had to customize a system, because a
customer we won from a competitor was doing it a certain way for them and
our sales promised the customer we would handle their data the same way.
Regards,
-Steve
"Earl Wertheimer" To:
"Stephen Lee", EDI-L Mailing List
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> cc:
Subject: RE:
[EDI-L] Is EDI dead?
01/11/2005 02:44 PM
Steve
> These customer supplier relationship issues aren't specific to EDI. When
> you order your Big Mac from McDonalds and ask for no onions you are doing
> the same thing to them on a much smaller scale.
>
> I think suppliers need to keep better track of these specific customer
> costs. What happens alot of times are by the time a project get's to EDI
> the contract pricing is already negotiated, and the sales and IT
> organizations are different departments that don't communicate these
extra
> costs. So it becomes a game of how much can the supplier bear before
they
> realize and scream to renegotiate the contract. Sometimes these costs
are
> fractions compared to the actual revenue being generated from a customer
> contract.
I agree that the cost of using EDI becomes one of the costs of doing
business.
BUT
There is an implicit understanding that the cost of doing business via EDI
is
still less than the alternatives. The only reason I am flogging this
particular horse, is because our clients can be better prepared if they
know in
advance if/how a potential customer is deviating from the norm.
If WalMart requires a $1,500.00 bisynch modem plus long-distance phone
charges
to Arkansas, them my client should know in advance.
If they need a VAN which may cost thousands of dollars a month in
perpetuity,
then they should know that.
If JCPenney has a whole pile of EDI documents (apart from the basic 850,
810,
856) which are required, then they should know that also.
If enough suppliers know about alternatives, then they will not feel that
they
are being extorted by their Trading Partner. I've gotten dozens of calls
from
clients after receiving letters from software companies on behalf of
particular
trading partners. The letter is written in such a way that it seems that
the
Trading Partner is requiring them to buy their software in order to do
business.
To me, it's similar to the bogus invoices I get from some internet domain
registrars, reminding me that my domain is expiring. They make the letter
look
like a normal renewal invoice, but in reality it's a transfer to a company
I
have never done business with.
It's unethical and preys on the uninformed and ignorant.
PS: MacDonalds offers a range of products with some customization. They
do
NOT force me to drive to their store using a particular model of vehicle.
They
have the choice of allowing or disallowing my choice of condiments. Given
that
Wendys, Harveys, etc. allow customization, MacDonalds doesn't have much
choice
if it wants to keep their customers.
Earl Wertheimer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.spe-edi.com
.
Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix:
<SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC>
Access the list online at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L
Yahoo! Groups Links
.
Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>,
<JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC>
Access the list online at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
