We had good conversations about the importance of data when understanding the market value of scrap, individual parts, and hard drive cleansing.   To me, it reinforced the importance of what GlobalNow is providing on with our reverse logistics software, as well as our field techs.   Our portals must have the ability to:

• Track the status of parts and derivative components at a very granular level
• Quickly add new fields  as needed to capture evolving information (without programming)
• Customize workflow  –  since it can vary at the customer and contract levels
• Capture both price and cost associated with the components – allowing proper pricing for resell and disposition
• Provide real time data analysis – understanding performance of components across the reverse logistics supply chain
• Extend tracking for all stakeholders into all facets of the business – ensuring high levels of communication

Thankfully, our software seems to meet the above requirements.

With the tour by friends at Argus, I can see firsthand the need for the right types of systems and processes.   Thanks again Argus, and I look forward to learning more about the intricacies of reverse logistics (including returns and spare parts management) so we can better serve our own customers.

Bob

I agree completely with Grant, and it seems to me that this “seemingly simple process of exchanging a defective part” is a great example of value of advanced portal solutions.

Previously, portals were mostly focused on information sharing, with a customer retrieving product information from a supplier or vendor.   They have now evolved to become a gateway to community based workflow and automation, helping cooperation between multiple parties, improving and measuring performance by adhering to a “best practice” workflow , and most recently  – automating much of the customer service functions by using timely data from supporting systems; resulting in faster and more accurate service for customers.   This helps reduce the suppliers cost through improved efficiencies and decision making quality through better insight in their customer/supply chains.

This approach also lays the foundation for the fundamental point within Mr. Gordon’s blog entry – “Embracing service as a revenue generator rather than a cost center to earn and retain a valuable asset—your customer’s Long-term loyalty”

Our own portals provide these types of benefits, but I believe over time they will/can do more.

Our spare parts management portal presents to users the association of spare parts to specific products, allowing online ordering through ecommerce, quoting or P.O. issuance.   Our returns management portal allows users to report and manage RMAs/cases while automatically determining warranty status and tracking workflow performance.

However, I do believe we will see even greater benefits from collaboration across additional departments and functions as they extend further into the global supply chain and the end user activities, enabling an even higher level of workflow efficiency.   Microsoft knows this, and has invested a great deal in their SharePoint platform and its fundamental portal capability, with some great out of the box document management and workflow automation capabilities resident within SharePoint 2010.

And of course, a well designed portal solution fits well with the “cloud” movement, enabling theses benefits to be deployed rapidly and universally across multiple stakeholders and systems; using SOA and other information exchange architecture that supports real time availability of important information.    Providers (like GlobalNow) must ensure customers receive a high level of value, basically making their lives easier as they service their customers in a fashion that shifts their operations from a cost center to a revenue generator.

I like clouds. I always have. My mother use to always tell me “my head was in the clouds”. I remember fondly those moments as a kid on a lazy summer afternoon lying on the cool grass and gazing up into the sky, imagining different characters created from the cloud formations…..dogs, cats, my wacky aunt with the crooked nose, etc.

Perhaps that is why I like the technology transformation to “the cloud”. With Steve Jobs announcing earlier this month Apple’s iCloud service; there seems no stopping this movement to using the cloud for both consumer and business needs. I just finished attending an informative Webinar from CRN on cloud computing (and Google cloud strategy), which pointed out that the Cloud market will hit $240 billion in 2020 (Forrester) and Cloud computing services is the top CIO priority in 2011 (Gartner).

Whether we are buyers or providers of technology (many of us are both), cloud based software and services transform the way we work, conduct business and in some cases make money. For instance, as part of our International fixed asset service, we uses cloud based portals to manage our technicians across the US, Latin America and Asia. This portal allows our technicians, managers and clients to rapidly communicate requirements and issues from anywhere in the world, using any device connected to the internet. This is critical, when real time communication among multiple stakeholders is critical to project success. As a provider, we offer cloud based software portals to mange reverse logistics. Although this market’s understanding of the benefits of cloud based solutions, I believe we need to continue to refine our selling proposition to reflect the harmony between cloud driven benefits and the core business benefits.

If you are a technology provider, how do you incorporate the cloud trend into your own offering? How do you market effectively? Below is some of my thoughts plus some insight from our partner BrightBlue Marketing:

1. Realize that offering Cloud Services is a service opportunity, not a product opportunity
2. Be specific with the cloud benefits to the client; that fits the common client issues faced by the client (such as my above example, the need for real time and documented communication)
3. Clarify as needed for the market the nuances/differences within cloud solutions, such as just hosted applications vs. shared applications; and the possible related limitationsRemember to emphasize the fundamental benefits of the applications/technology – such as reduced cost, improved customer service, rapid market penetration, etc. Thorough Knowledge of your customer’s specific business issues will become even more important as you offer cloud services.

And if you are a potential buyer of cloud based business technology, and you are not using SAAS or other cloud based solutions, then START. Understand the benefits by using a common cloud application (such as Google docs) and their limitations.

1. Assess your other core business applications (such as asset management, ordering, etc. ) and determine what gains you may realize, such as reduced cost, richer functionality, more satisfied customers.
2. Understand the possible trade off if you lose flexibility to completely customize if it’s a SAAS solution.
3. Cut through both the marketing hype and unwarranted fear mongers. Listen to trusted resources. Do your homework and go to a trusted colleague for insight.
4. Ensure your cloud solution adequately ALIGNS with your business requirement. For instance, if you need tremendous flexibility to manage and highly evolving sales process, maybe an in house CRM solution beats a more rigid cloud based solution.

Being a fan of clouds all my life, I’m looking forward to the tools and solutions that we bring to our clients as well as those we use from third party partners. But, I think there is no substitute for the Cloud experience of my childhood….I just hope the neighbors don’t panic when they see me laying on the grass in my backyard one summer evening – gazing into the cloudy sky.

Enjoy your own cloud experiences,

Bob

However, one of the greatest challenges faced by companies is the ability to meet these lofty expectations when tools such as SharePoint are deployed. With SharePoint 2010, there is now even more capability around business process management, easier collaboration, and other enhanced features. I recently attended the SharePoint TechFest in Irving, Texas and it was obvious both IT and business users are genuinely excited about these new possibilities. So, if you are the company “owner” of a collaboration initiative (such as SharePoint), how do you effectively set expectations? How do we move forward with a deployment plan that fully leverages the promise of SharePoint and is aligned with the business objectives? From our experience, some basic steps that come to mind are:

• Explaining the compelling portal features in a fashion that is clear to users with realistic benefits
• Explaining the limitations of portal features, especially if not executed correctly
• Explaining that participation is required by users to be successful; and secure this user involvement
• Establishing basic roadmaps and project plans for feature roll-out based on business priorities
• Execution of the plan in accordance with the roadmap
• Solicit and share feedback from the user community as the feature set is deployed – incorporate as needed
• Establish ongoing enhancement plans through a cross-functional portal team

I’m interested in how others communicate the potential of SharePoint and other portal solutions.  How do you set proper expectations throughout the enterprise and truly leverage the promise of portals through excellent execution?

Bob



Thank you so much for participating and I hope you have a great Holiday season.

Bob