Our ROA (Return on Assets) series continues…

In the movie business, “Returns” can mean big “returns” at the box office – Just ask the King or the Jedi or two different groups of Seven (the Secaucus and the Magnificent), where, oddly, both groups are “returning,” but, basically appearing for the first time – except, of course, for Yul.

In some cases, all the movie producers have done is taken the original formula and repackaged it as something special and new. Sometimes it works well: Pink Panther – and sometimes it doesn’t: Living Dead. Although in film, this can be subjective.

With eProcurement applications in place at some enterprises for more than five and sometimes even ten years, many of these older programs would likely benefit from a repackaging and a gala premiere (i.e. relaunch): “The Return of eProcurement” (add tagline as needed).

Are there active user adoption and supplier enablement initiatives still in place with your current program? If you’re not approaching 100% on these metrics, shouldn’t there be? Does the team still receive part of their bonus for getting these metrics to improve or have other projects pushed eProcurement down the list?

If you have an older program that has become staid or a newer program that has lost momentum, it is time to return to the ePro scene; it is time to reenergize, re-introduce, rebrand, and re-launch the program. How will you market the program? What is the tagline? How about giving it a catchy name and a mascot. I am serious. Don’t sell “compliance,” sell “employee and shareholder value;” sell “ease of use” better yet, have your CFO or CEO give it “Two Thumbs Up” and help sell it for you.

But here is a caution, particularly if your enterprise is working in an eProcurement system that hasn’t been upgraded since 2004/05: Do not throw good money after bad! Sometimes, nobody went to see the original movie, because it was just really, really terrible. Produce a sequel to a big loser and the enterprise will quickly return to business as usual (i.e. offline and maverick) and your efforts will be wasted – just ask Bruno about his return….. “Two Thumbs Down” on that “bomb” of a program (Bruno, by the way, was no Martin Guerre, the Frenchman, who made a great return).

So, before your production cameras start rolling, perform a quick assessment of the eProcurement system (asset) in place to determine the best way to improve your returns. Possible options include (1) do nothing to the technology and inject the program with some lively spirit, (2) upgrade what you have and relaunch, or (3) unplug the current system and move to a different solution altogether. For those that implemented a solution prior to 2006, be aware that the game has changed significantly – many solution providers offer vastly improved solutions that can be deployed in the cloud faster and at a lower cost than you might expect; friend and sponsor of the site, Hubwoo, plays prominently in this market.

To help get you started, I’d be happy to hop on a quick call if you’d like to discuss your options and hear some suggestions. Something lengthier, like performing an overall eProcurement program assessment or diagnostic, could be arranged too. (On top of the analyst business at Ardent Partners, we have been taking on a few small consulting projects each quarter.) So, drop me a note if you’d like to connect.

Tagged in: eProcurement, P2P, Return on Assets, Technology