By Ali Jani – Vice President, Partner Strategy, Enablement, and Services at Acumatica

One is too simple, the other too complex. Is there one that fits?

Mid-market businesses face many unique challenges. While the term “mid-market” is often loosely defined, I am referring throughout this post to smaller mid-market companies who are in the 20-500 employee range. They’re just as complex as the larger businesses they compete with, needing to manage a complete supply chain and engage their customers by employing tech-enabled methods and processes. Many have manufacturing operations which must be optimized and integrated with their supply chain processes. Still others do business internationally, spanning multiple time zones, languages and foreign currencies. For these reasons and many others, mid-market businesses need sophisticated ERP systems just like their enterprise competitors.

However, these organizations typically do not have the availability of in-house IT resources found in larger, established companies.  What mid-market companies need is sophisticated ERP and CRM software, which is cost effective to acquire and operate.  Finding the right solution can be a daunting and frustrating exercise, causing mid-market companies to wonder if…

We’re not big enough!

ERP and CRM solutions offered by large, legacy software vendors usually provide a full range of functionality to satisfy the needs of most mid-market enterprises. However, such functionality comes with a heavy price tag. Most legacy ERP and CRM solutions were designed to be installed and operated with existing on-premise IT resources. These solutions require additional investments in IT hardware, networking capacity and the people resources to maintain them. The capital cost of on-premise IT infrastructure and the operation expense of IT personnel put legacy solutions out of reach for most mid-market companies. Mid-market companies need affordable, cost-effective solutions, which naturally lead them to consider cloud-based ones.

The platform isn’t simple enough!

There are ERP and CRM solutions provided as Cloud, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) configurations which are much less expensive than on-premise solutions.  However, most of these solutions are lacking the rich execution and planning functionality needed by companies with distribution, retail, services or manufacturing operations or those which have international business units requiring multi-language and multi-currency capabilities.  As a result, such solutions fall short of providing the minimum capabilities needed to support existing operations. They also don’t provide the platform necessary to support growth and the integration of new technologies.  Mid-market companies need more capable solutions and platforms.

There are NO solutions that meet OUR needs! Wait, is there?

At Acumatica, we’re focused on the mid-market.  We believe these businesses are the engines of economic growth and innovation. Our Cloud SaaS ERP and CRM solutions provide multi-site, multi-language and multi-currency functionality that can be easily adapted and customized to meet changing business requirements. As one of our recent customers, Danforth Pewter, said:

What we looked for and did not find , was a solution that would integrate our POS system, our financials, our manufacturing, our order processing, and our orders flowing in from the web. A system that would integrate all of that – on a budget of a small company. People would say, “Hey, you want to spend five million dollars?” I was told by a couple of industry experts, “What you’re looking for at your size does not exist.”

Our solutions are provided in SaaS configurations and a variety of licensing options which give mid-market companies powerful capabilities, including 24×7 availability and full mobile-enabled connectivity at an entry cost that’s affordable. Our xRP platformprotects your ROI by ensuring compatibility and integration with both current and future technologies.

If your mid-market enterprise is looking for cost effective, flexbile, functionally rich, ERP solutions that can be ready to use and yet tailored for your business, start your ERP search with us. You’ll find our solutions aren’t too costly or too simple, but are the perfect fit for your business needs.