Blythe described that as having “a healthy process manufacturing suite, moderate distribution and very light on discrete manufacturing.” That’s not surprising since X3 was originally designed for process manufacturing. The lack of discrete manufacturing, he continued, means it can’t compete well with Epicor. Wayne Schulz, who operates Schulz Consulting, noted, “It seems every inquiry for new sales is for something specialized.” Most, he continued, come from manufacturing prospects, probably because they upgrade less frequently. Doug Deane, CEO of DSD System, agreed, “The biggest challenge for Sage 100 is that it doesn’t have a robust manufacturing add-on, and nobody is raising their hand to develop one.” Deane adds that is a major problem because Sage 100 is “Sage’s North American cash cow.”
SAGE 100: LACK OF VERTICALS HURTS? Featured
Sage 100 is one of Sage’s money products in this market. But resellers are saying that the lack of specialized products is hurting their ability to bring in new customers. “Sage doesn’t have any verticals that are built in,” Steve Blythe, owner of Laguna Hills, Calif.-based Blytheco said in a recent interview. ”They were discontinued.” This conversation stemmed from the old built-in versus best-of-breed approach when it comes to the cloud products. Blythe contrasted that with NetSuite, which has been emphasizing verticals, and his NetSuite business is humming along. He also noted the relative lack of verticals for X3, Sage’s product of the future.
