Client Sucesses - Busch, Inc.

Busch, Inc., a global manufacturer and distributor of industrial vacuum pumps, was planning the replacement of their enterprise-wide ERP system. The system in use had been installed and implemented over twelve years ago. Because of the limitations imposed by a flat file data management system and a COBOL-oriented development environment, access to vital business information was constrained. These limitations were made worse by the fact that Busch was growing and the growth was going to accelerate.

Another consideration driving the need for a new ERP system was the desire to streamline business process flows. The senior Busch management team felt strongly that significant efficiencies could be gained by implementing an ERP system that reflected the latest Best Practices of the make-to-order and engineer-to-order manufacturing environment.

Busch called upon Marathon Consulting to assist with the identification of requirements and selection of a replacement system. Marathon was selected because of its strong track record on these types of engagements. Marathon assigned a senior Business Analyst to undertake the tasks associated with defining the business requirements. The Analyst also took on the task of assisting Busch management with the definition of implementation priorities – never a simple or easy job.

When the business requirements were defined for each operational department, and reviewed and approved by the Busch team, Marathon moved to the second major phase of the engagement: Software Selection. Marathon surveyed the market to determine which of the dozens of viable vendors could offer the optimum solution to Busch’s needs. Once identified, each vendor was contacted to determine their interest in responding to a Busch RFP.

Formal RFPs were developed and distributed to three (3) potential vendors. The vendors were required to submit specific responses to each of the Busch functional requirements. These responses were required to indicate if the vendor’s product could 1) meet the requirement with no modification; 2) meet the requirement after modification; or 3) could not be economically modified to meet the requirement. If a modification was needed, the vendor was required to submit a price quote on each identified modification.

Vendors were also required to submit extensive information on their product and their organization. This included the names and contact information for reference accounts whose organizational and business characteristics were close to those of Busch.

Once the vendor proposals arrived, they were carefully evaluated and mathematically scored to determine which ones looked like the strongest match to Busch’s needs. The evaluation considered the functional match, vendor strength, and various costs.

The strongest two vendors were then invited to conduct extensive demonstrations to the Busch evaluation team and Marathon. When the demonstrations were concluded, the Marathon and Busch project teams convened. The results of the demonstrations were compared and a purchase recommendation was put forward for Busch’s consideration.

A favorable purchase negotiation took place and Busch was able to acquire and implement the ERP system. Process streamlining is now underway.