Leveraging IT user groups

Leveraging IT user groups    Nearly every technology vendor ' supply chain or otherwise ' has a group of users that's organized to some degree. These user groups vary in size, format and purpose, but their existence is universal.
   User participation, however, is often a very different story.
   In a recent conversation, a Gartner analyst candidly estimated that membership rates for these user groups are fairly high ' probably 70 percent to 80 percent of the customer base. But active participation rates are probably closer to 10 percent.
   Software users spend billions of dollars a year with these vendors, and in doing so they are hanging the success of their supply chains on the effectiveness of those systems. It seems like a 'no-brainer' to follow that monetary investment up with an investment in time and attention to ensure these vendors continue to improve and innovate.
   'Small and medium-sized companies are particularly underrepresented in user groups in general. Often this comes back to resource availability,' said Chris Moon, assistant manager for innovation and technology support at Ideal Supply, a wholesale distributor of electrical, industrial and automotive aftermarket supplies.
   Ideal Supply is a Descartes Systems Group customer and an active participant in the firm's user group. 'To some, participating in a user group can be a hard sell, but the value from participating is very clear,' Moon said.
   User groups provide a return on investment in several ways, some of which are more straightforward than others. The networking aspect of any user group is a clear benefit that requires little explanation.

'An OTM user from Australia ' had a 10-minute conversation on-site with another user that provided them a solution that is expected to save their company $100,000 per year.'

Caleb Warner former chairman, Oracle Transportation Management Special Interest Group

   'In general you can connect with other people who are doing things you want to do,' said Caleb Warner, former chairman of the Oracle Transportation Management Special Interest Group (OTM SIG).
   Bear in mind this networking opportunity benefits the individual as much as the company. 'It's a fantastic opportunity to build your network,' Moon said. 'I've met peers I can reach out to and share experiences.'
   Many times that connection with peers can materialize in a direct return on investment for the company. 'Depending on the user community it can give you access to other products, services and opportunities you might not know about,' Warner said.
   'An OTM user from Australia makes a considerable investment in attending our event in Philadelphia. They had a 10-minute conversation on-site with another user that provided them a solution that is expected to save their company $100,000 per year,' he added.
   Participating in your vendor's user group is not just about getting more from what you have now; it's about getting more in the future.
   'The community has a tangible voice influencing the development roadmap for the system,' Moon said. 'We're pointing toward where the efforts should be focused to maximize the value for the whole community.'
   At the June OTM SIG annual conference in Philadelphia, users actively provided feedback to Oracle's leadership. One Oracle executive responsible for the product roadmap remarked that the company had made considerable adjustments to the system and the development strategy to meet the demands of users expressed at the same event the previous year.
   OTM SIG is one of more than 50 special interest groups that Oracle participates in, and that is in addition to more than 100 regional Oracle user groups that meet more frequently.
   Technology vendors that provide community-based applications, such as global trade management and supply chain visibility portals, can take this notion of feedback-based improvement a step further. Their unique position as hubs can empower users to affect change in the industry as well within their own companies.
   Kraft Foods joined GT Nexus' general user group in 2008. Since joining the group and ramping up its participation, the company has educated internal users on the system and allowed them to manage ocean freight more effectively. Kraft generally is an active participant in technology user groups where they derive business benefits including Oracle's OTM SIG.
   'We easily met the return on investment,' said Michael J. Murphy, associate director of global logistics procurement at Kraft. 'In 2009, as our global team of users became better trained and began to rely more on the shipment execution functionality of GT Nexus, we joined the wider group of fellow shippers to leverage the broader power of the group known as the Shipper Council.'
   'Over the past few years, the GT Nexus Shipper Council has focused on improving the data they get from logistics providers,' said Greg Kefer, director of marketing for GT Nexus. 'By working collectively, the group has improved their data quality levels from below 65 percent to more than 95 percent.'
   The Shipper Council, which includes representatives of about 50 GT Nexus customers, measures data quality based on the timeliness and accuracy of notifications provided by carriers for eight universal milestones for every shipment. The council leverages this information by benchmarking members against the group and providing results to the carriers directly.
   The council is largely successful in driving higher levels of data quality because of their scale and leverage. GT Nexus estimates its customers spend more than $10 billion on air and ocean transportation. While the Shipper Council is only a segment of those customers, its participants clearly control a considerable volume of shipments. 'The network of companies is evolving into more of a community, and the carriers sense this and welcome the partnership,' Murphy said.
   The impact of these initiatives goes well beyond those who are directly involved. 'If any member of the council tackles a particular data quality problem, the entire network becomes the direct beneficiary of the solution or improvement,' Murphy said.