Manufacturer Connectivity in O4

With new technology comes the requirement that we re-write much of the connectivity in OASIS. For this reason, the only connectivity that will be ported to O4 will be connectivity with manufacturers that are true partners and there is a financial requirement to pay us for our time. The rumor presented by some manufacturers is something like “that is what the reps pay M&S for.” Um, no. Each one of the manufacturer data systems is unique requiring us to work through all the issues and this often includes teaching the IT group what it is a rep does for the manufacturer.

To get an idea of what we see – let’s contrast what you see from a benchmark:

• Configurator linked to OASIS and actually has a useful UI and data
• Pricing that auto updates daily with low and overagable pricing (bonus points for territory pricing)
• Product availability with the click of a mouse in OASIS
• Orders that go directly into the manufacturer’s data system without re-keying mistakes
• Order status that comes down and auto attaches to your orders in OASIS
• Invoices that auto apply in OASIS with maybe a set of invoices for EDI and spec orders
• Payment information downloaded electronically.

It is a difficult task for everyone involved to keep data systems working at a high level for all this automation to work. In short, no manufacturer is able to get to 100% application of say order status. To gauge where your manufacturers are, consider the percentage of automation described above. Is it 80%? Or more like 60%? Then think back to grade school where 90% was an A, 80% was a B, 70% was a C, 60% was a D and 50% was an F.

The reason for the discussion above is to indicate what it is like supporting a D or less manufacturer implementation. The rep calls our support team asking us to “fix it”. Assuming we have the ability to contact someone at the manufacturer to help us “fix it”, the answer usually is “that’s just what you get with a D level implementation.” Then the rep goes to put pressure the manufacturer and is told “it must be OASIS”. Here is what normally happens next: the manufacturer puts pressure on us to “fix it”. Um, same OASIS is running across town in your competitor’s office with an A implementation and not seeing these issues. These are typically the same manufacturers that won’t give us a dime for our troubles either.

Enter O4. We have been taking our time building O4 on the web “right. While we are making this multimillion-dollar investment (yes, that’s what it costs) we simply won’t work with D and F players. We may lose customers over this decision, but it is time we move forward in the industry. An to be honest, we won’t be carrying large D and F level players. We will let someone else have those headaches.