Christophe Letellier, CEO for Sage ERP X3 shares his thoughts on what makes Sage ERP X3 different. As a partner, we certainly agree, and appreciate the collaborative approach adapted by the Sage ERP X3 leadership and team.

From left to right: Stephen Coull – Sage Alchemex – South Africa, Kerry Mann – Mantralogix – Canada, Christophe Letellier, Linda Adams, Senior director of Engineering at Sage, Irvine California

One team working together for our customer’s success

By: Christophe Letellier
On my way back from a great Sage ERP X3 Global Convention in Berlin last week, I was wondering what makes an ERP solution the right one for mid-market customers. During the whole week, we’ve presented and demonstrated Sage ERP X3 at length: the solution today, with its breadth and depth of functionality and exciting customer testimonials, as well as the future of Sage ERP X3 with its totally new user experience that will increase return on investment. We have shared all this with our employees and partners. Of course, excitement was high and a good product is an important part of a good solution, but it’s not enough.
My take from last week in Berlin is that the community makes the difference. I’m not speaking about size or numbers but about commitment and collaboration. What showed strongly last week is the ability and the willingness of Sage and its partners to collaborate, share and work together for the benefit of our clients. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to paint a picture of a perfect world, but what I describe is the reality of what I’ve witnessed. I received so much feedback from our partners, and no matter where they came from, they all mentioned the fact that probably the best part of our Convention was the opportunity to engage transparently with Sage and the other partners.
I’ve always believed that the split between “direct” and “indirect” was a figment of the past. What counts now is gathering the skills and competencies that will make our customers more successful. Good sense says that it’s better to have a small slice of a big cake than a big slice of a small one. In business it’s not small or big, in fact, it’s “deal” or “no deal”. Sharing value makes sense when you have won! I think that together with our partners, we’ve got that mentality. Winning means giving our prospects and customers the confidence that they will have the solution they need to succeed, putting together the winning team that will fully address their needs.
This is what I’ve seen in Berlin: a great collaborative spirit. I know that our customers and prospects, who joined us on the last day, felt the same.
Even if this was a great outcome from our Sage ERP X3 Global Convention, it is not new to us. From day one we always have favored a selective approach when recruiting our partners. We could easily have 2-3 times more partners if we wanted, but the level of commitment and engagement behind Sage ERP X3 has always been the priority. Looking back, I’m happy we made this decision. Only committed partners can be open and mature enough to work as part as a community. Only the ones who are engaging their own business behind Sage ERP X3 can understand and accept that they will be stronger collaborating rather than working in isolation.
 
What’s true for our partners is also true for Sage. In all regions we have developed very collaborative models that leverage both the strength of our community and give our customers the choice to contract with who they want in order to access the best skills and competencies. We’ll keep developing this model; it’s not a dual model, but a hybrid model. At the end of the day, mid-market companies have the last say and they will tell us if we are right!