[tpmx]

I feel like I can share this particular piece of gossip - hopefully it's useful to someone - I'm not particularly interested in going after this particular slice of business:

So we just had a sales guy join from a large electronics components distributor - the kind that handles the interfaces between

a) globally known consumer hardware brands both in "the west" and in PRC

b) the hardware manufacturers (mostly PRC, some TW)

c) the component manufacturers (mixed)

I had been assuming they had been running some super sophisticated globally integrated software system. I was really curious about how this stuff actually worked, in real life. It turns out it's just excel sheets and phone-calls in the end. They are working to introduce ERP systems, but..no.

This seems like something that's ripe for a software-based revolution.

[jpindar]

This. So much this. The whole electronics manufacturing industry runs on Excel sheets. Every BOM, inventory list etc. is in Excel. Because that's what your manager knows how to use, because that's what their managers knew how to use, and so on.

It came with Windows so that's that, they can't be bothered to try anything else. Not even after mangled sheets cause repeated mistakes.

I would so love to work on something like this, but when people won't even use a free solution suggested by one of their trusted employees, selling one will be tough.

[hef19898]

I am starting a bootstrapped business along the lines now. My take is that sellzong a solution won't work. You have to compete with Excel, and all the reasons you just stated, and SAP (or any other ERP-System they might use if any). Selling a service is different story so. If you can show them that you as a subcontractor, in my case as a 4PL, can deliver better performance or solve some of their pain points you can use whatever solutions you want. And being more efficient and software-heavy only helps you.

All you have to do is give them their data in the se excel sheets they are used to. Preferably by e-mail, portals and such are the devil.

[jpindar]

BOMs as a service! I like it, but I'm not quite sure how it would work. A lot of the errors that creep into these documents are things only someone very familiar with the company and the product design would spot. You'd almost have to be onsite.

[hef19898]

Ah, I won't touch BOMs or production for the time being! More the logistics side of things. But I remember a discussion I had back the day regarding config management and BOMs. And yeah, there definitely is a market for good BOM / Config Management solution as a service. The trick would be to figure out which BOM to use so. But especially in the aerospace and defense sector there should he money to be made.

[hef19898]

Ah, sounds a lot like the solar sector. Chinese manufacturers, close to now ERP-usage, inefficient processes. And being a b2b market doesn't hurt neither if you ask me. Also, the MVP when compared to excel shouldn't be the hardest thing in the world. I only expect the sales cycle to be rather long.

[tpmx]

I think the solar sector may be different. The component sector has a vast number of components in use (like 500k+ different parts, I dunno), and like 100+ component suppliers.