Abas Business Solutions establishes stronger foothold in Spain by taking advantage of IBM technical and marketing resources

IBM ISV & Developer Relations

Business Partner: Abas Business Solutions Iberica

How IBM Business Partner benefits helped Abas Business Solutions

• IBM funded seminar resulted in 150,000 Euros (about USD193,000) in new business

• Client Event Package generated an average of 40 to 80 qualified leads and 8 to 12 new customers annually

• Abas gained credibility by leveraging IBM reputation

Each day, manufacturers and distributors in industries ranging from automotive to chemicals grapple with ever-more stringent customer requirements for on-time delivery, order accuracy and quality.

Such performance-related requirements, combined with ongoing, financial bottom-line pressures to reduce costs and improve revenue underscore the importance of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software as a tool for optimizing resources, enhancing control and increasing efficiencies and productivity.

Throughout Spain, small and mid-size manufacturers and distributors in discrete and process industries alike rely on Abas Business Solutions, an IBM Premier Business Partner, to provide them with comprehensive and fully integrated ERP functionality from shop floor to front office.

“We sell and implement the targeted function our customers need in a single solution so there are no major integration issues and it takes fewer people to run the system,” said Didier Delhaye, chief financial officer of Abas Iberica SI, the Madrid-based division of Abas Software AG, which is headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany. “That’s extremely important for a business running a lean operation, particularly in its IT department,” Delhaye said.

Abas Iberica SI has been an IBM Business Partner since 2001, when the 20-person division was established in two offices, the headquarters in Madrid and a branch office in Barcelona. The IBM relationship has been critical from the beginning, Delhaye explained.

Delhaye credits the IBM relationship for new business valued at 150,000 Euros (about USD$193,000), an increase of 40 to 80 qualified leads and 8 to 12 new customers annually from client events and increased credibility as a result of the IBM reputation. “IBM has been very keen on working with us to target small and medium business, and IBM is a really well established name among all of our prospect companies in Spain,” Delhaye said. “Our relationship with IBM adds instant credibility to the Abas offer,” he said.

Delhaye credits IBM name recognition with helping Abas Iberica SI increase its customer base to more than 50 companies, 85 percent of which run Abas ERP on the Linux® operating system and the IBM System x® server.

With all product development and testing, plus most technical interaction with IBM conducted from its parent company headquarters in Germany, Abas Iberica SI focuses exclusively on selling and implementing the Abas ERP solution. That frees Delhaye to concentrate solely on leveraging marketing benefits available to his company as an IBM Business Partner.
One major technical benefit Abas took advantage of was a seminar in 2007 hosted by the IBM Innovation Center in Barcelona entitled “Drive to Success with PartnerWorld resources.”

Delhaye works closely with his IBM marketing resource manager (MRM) to develop an annual marketing plan and identify PartnerWorld benefits most suitable to helping his company achieve its marketing and business goals.

One of the most successful benefits for Abas over the years has been the Client Event Package, a series of four IBM-funded seminars throughout the year, each drawing 10 to 20 prospective Abas customers to attend presentations on the Abas ERP solution and IBM hardware and middleware. “Of those that attend a seminar, we are typically able to convert about three into clients,” Delhaye said. “Our sales cycle is quite long, so it’s not an immediate sale, but in each case, the first substantive contact with us was at the IBM-sponsored event,” he noted.

Delhaye attributes 10 direct leads and two new Abas ERP licenses totalling 150,000 Euros (about USD193,000) to the most recent Abas/IBM joint seminar, which also generated sales of three IBM System x servers. In addition to moving forward with an ongoing schedule of seminars, Delhaye envisions becoming more aggressive in utilizing other IBM marketing resources in the future - from telemarketing and direct mail campaigns to co-funding for trade shows. He expects to lean heavily on his IBM MRM for necessary guidance.

“We want to get case studies published and learn how to get the most benefit from other PartnerWorld programs, like Campaign Designer,” he said. “[The IBM MRM] has been quite effective in identifying all the resources IBM can bring to us. He’s also been invaluable as our personal contact into IBM, connecting us to the right people.”