Want to know one of the easiest ways to get a great ROI when purchasing inventory management and accounting ERP software? Choose a software company that wants to be your partner and not just your vendor.
For over 30 years, Blue Link ERP has been helping businesses grow by building long-lasting business partnerships with our customers. We aim to be an extension of your employee base by understanding your existing processes and future strategic goals and then helping you to achieve them. Part of this happens immediately during the sales process – we take the time to really get to know you and your business before determining if our software is a good fit and we aren’t afraid to tell a company when it’s not a good fit. The partnership then continues to build once you become a customer and we proactively communicate and engage with your business to help you become more efficient, save money, expand into new channels, improve processes, and grow. We understand that it’s impossible to communicate information about every feature and opportunity during the sales process and therefore make a point to check in regularly to make sure you’re taking full advantage of what the software has to offer (and no – it’s not about upselling the product, but rather making sure you understand what tools already exist). We also encourage you to develop partnerships with your other customers and vendors where appropriate and will introduce you to other experts in our network who we think can help. Let’s further explore the benefits of business partnerships.
The Benefits of Business Partnerships
One of the biggest benefits of business partnerships is that they are mutually beneficial. They follow a win-win approach as both companies are committed to, and benefit from, the other’s success. The effort put in by both sides will also reward both sides. Business partnerships provide much more business value than just a transactional vendor relationship, in that they are strategic and flexible. Partnerships follow a proactive approach that requires engagement over the long term. A partner will immerse themselves in your business and how it works to understand your specific processes and nuances – as well as opportunities and threats. These types of relationships are built over time with a solid investment from both parties. Other factors that define a business partnership are:
- A Win-Win Approach: you’re both invested in the success of the other which will have a direct, positive impact on your business
- Detail Oriented: to get the best results from any partnership, there needs to be detailed communication to understand each other’s needs
- Customization and Flexibility: a great partnership will be flexible with the ability to customize specific products and services
- Goal Driven: the partnership strategy is based on an understanding of short-term and long-term goals
- Growth Mindset: partners will work to grow your business – if your business grows, this in turn will help their business grow as the demand for users and functionality increases
- On-Going Support: more than just Help Desk activities, partners will provide support through a crisis and work to find ways to get through it together
Transactional Vendor Relationships
While partnerships have many benefits, not all business relationships need to be partnerships. Transactional relationships with vendors can be just as beneficial because they serve different needs. Transactional relationships are based on the short-term requirement for a specific product or service. By nature, these relationships are not very complex, and the product or service offered is usually plug-and-play and designed for a more general consumer base. Once you’ve made a transactional purchase from a vendor, you likely won’t need to interact with the vendor again unless you wish to purchase something else or have a specific issue (in which case you may end up dealing with a 3rd party company).
Get More from a Partnership with Blue Link ERP
For our wholesale and distribution customers, the systems and processes they have in place are the backbones of their company - helping to manage everything from sales, through purchases, to inventory management, accounting, reporting, customer relationship, warehouse management and more. Having a partnership between Blue Link ERP and your company can provide huge benefits to your business, starting right from the initial sales process. Our team of experts really get to know you and your business to be able to work with you in the future. Our implementation team are the same people who can help with customizations, report building, Help Desk activities, adding features, connecting with other vendors and more. This means the people who are there to understand your business from the beginning, are the same people you get to work with into the future.
When evaluating different software vendors during the sales process, you need to be able to trust that your ERP company will provide you with expert advice instead of trying to upsell you the latest product. You want to find a partner that you can go to when seeking business advice or help with your decision-making process – a true business partner. At Blue Link ERP, we have experience working with hundreds of businesses in the wholesale distribution industry which allows our team to offer expert advice on how to improve processes and which products and services can help.
