BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - September 8, 2009) - In the annual "
ERP Mid-Market" study announced by
Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
(
NYSE:
HHS), increased global competition combined with rising costs drove
mid-size companies (companies with revenues between $50 million and $1
billion) to use resources more efficiently, meet tighter delivery
schedules, and improve overall responsiveness. Adding to the complexity of
the mid-market business environment, mid-market businesses are becoming
more distributed. The average number of operating locations within the
mid-market supported by ERP grew year over year by 39%, from 4 to 5.6. We
see the number of operating locations increasing steadily up to the $250
million threshold and then hitting a plateau as companies scale to $1
billion. For growing companies in the lower end of the mid-market, this
signals a hotbed of change complete with opportunities as well as
challenges.
While greater operational distribution can negatively impact internal
costs, top performing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations
eliminated (or redeployed) 13 full time employees and reduced both
administrative and manufacturing operational costs by 17%.
"Faced with increasing complexity, top performing mid-size companies look
to ERP solutions to drive more value by standardizing, streamlining, and
automating critical processes while providing the visibility they need to
make well-informed decisions quickly and efficiently," said Cindy Jutras,
vice president and research fellow, Aberdeen. "Without effective visibility
into processes, mid-market companies are severely limited in their ability
to adapt to and maneuver within an increasingly complex and dynamic
competitive environment."
The study goes on to reveal that only the top performing companies
significantly improved in providing full visibility into the status of all
processes from quote to cash (40% had this capability last year compared to
53% this year). The remaining 80% of survey respondents made virtually no
progress year over year in achieving this capability (30% last year
compared to 31% this year.) Moving forward, it is important for mid-market
companies to not lose sight of the importance of process visibility nor
ERP's role in providing that visibility.
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the
following underwriters: Infor, Plex Systems and SAP. To obtain a
complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5990.
Visit
Research.Aberdeen.com for
additional access to complimentary
Enterprise
Resource Planning Research
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers
demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the
past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving
market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering
meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the
global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that
drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to
learn more about
Harte-Hanks,
call (800) 456-9748.
© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Cindy Jutras
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(617) 854-5247
Cindy.jutras@aberdeen.com