Avoid This Costly Mistake When Choosing an Order to Cash Solution
You probably already know that having a superior order to cash (O2C) solution is critical in our fast-paced, rapidly changing digital marketplace. Companies with inefficient O2C processes have difficulty scaling because of slow time to market for new products and services, high cost of ownership for IT solutions, and poor customer retention.
Yet many companies set themselves up for these inefficient processes by making a single common mistake: they choose systems — billing systems, CRMs, O2C systems — based on what they need now without considering what they’ll need in the future.
Within a few years, their business has progressed beyond the capacity of their existing system and one of two things is happening: either they’re spending a big chunk of change on a new system or they’re watching other companies outrun them as they battle lengthy go-to-market cycles and frustrating inefficiencies.
So why do companies fail to consider their future? Because the marketplace is moving quickly, and they’re focused on not falling behind.
Unfortunately, they may be hindering their future success in the process.
The best way to get ahead is to stay agile with robust, flexible SaaS solutions
Whether you’re evaluating a new service to manage your order-to-cash lifecycle or looking for ways to optimize your existing solution, your first step is to make an honest assessment of where you are now and where you’d like to be in the future — two, five, even ten years from now.
Implementing an O2C solution that perfectly meets your existing needs might sound great today. But if that solution will require a complete overhaul in three years because of your impressive growth, you’ll end up spending resources that you could have saved by choosing a more forward-thinking plan initially.
Developing a roadmap for your company’s future needs can be daunting, especially if you don’t have a solid grasp on your future goals. After years of guiding companies through this process, we developed a model to help teams clarify their goals and think through what their future O2C needs might be.
Identifying your existing and future needs with the Embrix Business Maturity Curve
Our Embrix Business Maturity Curve separates companies into four maturity levels:
L1 – Startup, new line of business or new service
L2 – Emerging company
L3- Enterprise company
L4 – Extra large enterprise company
Most companies have a strong sense of where they are right now, but many aren’t sure where they plan to be in a few years — especially in more complex situations, like where an existing L3 company is starting a new service, which would be categorized as an L1.
Let’s walk through the maturity curve using some example businesses.
A startup would typically designate themselves as an L1 and would find that they need the foundational capabilities of an O2C system like basic subscription pricing, simple item and pricing catalogue, basic taxation and invoicing and simple payment processing. Great for right now, but if they see themselves growing into an enterprise company, they’ll want to look into O2C solutions that have more advanced features — like automated correspondence or customized invoicing — that they can integrate into their existing system as they grow.
On the other end of the spectrum, an existing enterprise company (L3) has launched a new offering and is planning to go to market. They may be inclined to use their existing O2C solution, but after some analysis, they discover that they don’t need such advanced capacity for phase 1 of their go-to-market plan. They can save money by choosing a solution that has basic L1 capabilities and can add more in subsequent phases. Perhaps in phase 2, they add L2 features that support upselling or cross selling.
Businesses who take the time to engage in this future analysis choose solutions that give them greater flexibility along with cost savings, putting them ahead of the competition now — and in the future.
If you’re ready to find out where your business falls on the Embrix Maturity Curve, click here for your free copy of this cost-saving, future-proofing model. <link>