On-demand supply chain management (SCM) company Mitrix has launched a new
partnership program with supply-chain integrators and consultants in order
to reach more deeply into the small and medium-sized business market.
George Mulling, vice president of business development at Mitrix, told
internetnews.com that the Irvine, Calif.-based company is “relying
heavily upon [the new partners] to drive revenue and bring new customers on
board.”
Mitrix, whose SCM Live solution launched last June, said its
Authorized Partner Program will give the company access to a broader network
of experienced supply chain consultants and industry professionals.
The program, which consists of Solutions Partners and Certified Partners, is a change in direction for Mitrix.
“While Mitrix started out with both direct and indirect sales efforts, our
goal is for the partner program to become the main source of the company’s
future growth,” Mulling said.
“Over time,” he said, “we hope that 50 percent of all revenues will be driven from the channel. Outside of North America, we will primarily depend on channel
partners for revenue.”
Mitrix hopes that its Solutions Partners, which so far include business process and technology integration consultant Bristlecone and third-party logistics specialist Versatile Distribution Technologies, will sell, implement and
consult around SCM Live as well as generate four new deals per year. A typical
three-year contract is valued at $350,000, Mulling said.
On the other hand, Certified Partners, such as Orange County, Calif.-based Bolero Associates, will act as lead generators for
Mitrix, which expects to convert four leads per Certified Partner every year.
“They can participate in the selling process if they choose to, but
are not required to, and would consult around the application,” said
Mulling.
As growth has slowed in the more traditional on-premise market, more and
more solutions providers are turning their attention to the mid-size market
with attractively priced offerings.
Mulling argued that on-demand SCM solutions are a cost-effective means for
companies to improve their supply chain, whether they are filling gaps in
their legacy systems or implementing something from scratch.
“It makes them a more effective and much stronger trading partner going up
against their competition,” he said.
SCM Live was developed specifically with the needs of manufacturers and
distributors in the small to medium-sized enterprise space. Delivered
on-demand, it requires no additional hardware, software or IT staff, and can
be implemented rapidly.
Because it is delivered via the Internet, SCM Live allows companies to
effectively link their enterprise system with their global partners,
providing synchronization of the entire supply chain.
“Mitrix’s On Demand supply chain solution is a very timely offering that
addresses the critical supply chain visibility and harmonization issues
faced by a lot of manufacturers,” said Padman Ramankutty, CEO and co-founder of Bristlecone.
Mulling sees the addition of channel partners, such as San Jose, Calif.-based Bristlecone, as validation for the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model employed by Mitrix.
“It shows that SaaS is more and more relevant. The timing is now for
customers to consider on demand to help them solve problems,” he said.
Ed Lewis, president and CEO of Mitrix, told
internetnews.com that SCM Live integrates easily with other on-demand
products such as Salesforce.com, because it was created specifically for
this environment.
But he admitted that integration with legacy systems is a tougher nut to
crack. “It does take a bit longer,” he said.
Mulling said the alliance with Bristlecone should be particularly useful in this area, because it has a strong relationship with SAP. He added the company will integrate SCM Live as needed.
“SCM Live allows Bristlecone to have an effective supply chain solution to
plug gaps in its customers’ supply chain.”
