All in the family
Best Software aims to increase brand recognition; retain users as they grow
By Dave Turbide, contributing editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 12/1/2002 7:00:00 AM
The Best Software company name is not nearly as well known as the names of some of its products—Peachtree, ACT!, and SalesLogix, for example. But Best Software, whose Irvine, Calif.-based Mid-Market Division offers enterprise resources planning (ERP) software, aims to correct that situation by launching a new branding campaign emphasizing the "Best" family name.
It's not just image behind the move. One of Best Software's strengths is that its applications range from low-cost "desktop" solutions like Peachtree, an accounting and inventory management package; and ACT!, a contact management application; all the way up to ERP solutions for medium-size enterprises, as well as SalesLogix, one of the most widely used CRM packages for small- to medium-size enterprises. The company plans to capitalize on its broad product footprint by making it easier for users to migrate from one package to another as they grow, and appeal to their desire for pre-integrated functionality.
Best recently unveiled its branding messages, as well as initiatives aimed at keeping users within the Best family of products. One of these initiatives is a "migration center" for end-users. "The center gives customers one point of contact while they evaluate their technology decisions," says Ron Verni, CEO, Best Software.
Verni points out that in the first half of 2002, 31 percent of new customers for Best's MAS 90 ERP suite migrated from Peachtree. And according to at least one information technology (IT) analyst, there is a place for vendors that can help companies scale from solutions for small business to ERP.
"Millions of companies start out with accounting systems that they eventually outgrow," says Alice Greene, a principal of analyst firm Industry Directions, Newburyport, Mass. "Best Software is giving these companies an alternative to IT-intensive or function-heavy ERP systems via systems that meet the needs of smaller manufacturers and distributors."
Being able to scale from small businesses to the mid-market may take multiple applications, but it requires a similar IT simplicity appeal, Verni contends. "Our 'sweet spot' is companies with five to 250 employees," says Verni. "Many of these companies have no IT department and therefore they appreciate the ability to easily integrate ERP and CRM, and to easily move up from our low-end products to our larger systems."
New industry-focused versions of Peachtree are intended to establish a stronger identity for Best's products in manufacturing, distribution, non-profit, and the accounting profession. Another part of the effort is a clean migration path from Peachtree to the ERP products, which include:
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MAS 90, a LAN-based system for "light" manufacturing and distribution.
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MAS 200, a client/server version similar to MAS 90. Both MAS 90 and MAS 200 are for light manufacturers and job shops having up to 500 employees.
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MAS 500, a suite for larger enterprises of up to 1,000 employees. This system, formerly known as the Best Enterprise Suite, is targeted at discrete make-to-order and make-to-stock manufacturers. Those who have followed Best for some time may know of this system's financial/accounting roots as the Acuity system, with manufacturing functionality and expertise via Best's acquisition of Haitek.
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The Platinum Windows-based suite for process manufacturers that includes functionality from the BatchMaster acquisition.
Eventually, all products will share a common technology architecture, but even before that evolutionary transition, data and personalization will carry from the retail products to the enterprise-class systems, making it easier for users to move up.
One enterprise that has stuck with Best is Consolidated Transmission Parts, an Orlando-based distributor of automotive parts. A long-time Peachtree user, Consolidated upgraded its Orlando location to Best's MAS 90 product in 2000, and brought its Gulfport, Miss. site onboard about a year later.
"We have both locations on one server now and we can integrate information from the two sites," says Christina Stewart, an accountant with Consolidated. "MAS 90 handles inventory a lot better than Peachtree, and we use the sales-order and purchase-order functions, as well as the accounting. There's a lot of capability [in MAS 90], and I don't think we'll outgrow it in the foreseeable future."
While Peachtree and ACT! generally sell through retailers, a large network of business partners sell and install the enterprise software products. Best claims 6,600 such partners "with IT expertise," roughly half of which are involved with the MAS product line, and has beefed up support for partners with more training, guaranteed lead-generation programs, and a zero-percent financing program through American Express.
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