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"They don't understand, for example, why the guy who was trained to fix John Deer tractors can't readily switch to servicing a fleet of Kubota tractors without
by forgottenpaswrd 16y ago
"They don't understand, for example, why the guy who was trained to fix John Deer tractors can't readily switch to servicing a fleet of Kubota tractors without taking technical courses on the new product and changing out some tooling. These things cost money that may not be made up by a short term savings on capital expenditure."
They do understand, that is the reason for standards that you could enforce as a mayor customer, if not on all your operations, in your primary ones. It cost a lot of money to depend on just only one company that knows you can't change to their competence(monopoly cost), too.
- bradleyland 16y agoStandards don't solve everything. There is always a change management component, and nothing is free. To use the tractor example, Kubota may offer to provide tooling and training for "free", but they're not eating the cost. It's built in to their price. Say they still come in at a price lower than the incumbent. There are still going to be unforeseen variables. I'm not saying the incumbent should always win. Far from it. We've bult a business on disrupting that exact scenario, but you'll find that your customer relationships are short lived if you treat vendors as universally interchangeable cogs. You have to listen carefully to the vendors and the stakeholders inside the purchasing organization, and make sure you hold the challenger accountable for their promises.