Siebel Systems
Essay Preview: Siebel Systems
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Siebel would like to close on a successful sale of their SFA system to Q&R/FleetBoston as their sales figures for the quarter pretty much depend on this one sale to Q&R. It has to convince the executive board at the company about the superiority of it products over its close competitors in order to achieve this goal.
Additionally, Siebel would like to win FleetBoston’s faith in its products. Although a large percentage of the deal on Q&R’s side has already been done by representatives and department heads, it is essential to convince the new acquirers at FleetBoston of the feasibility of using Siebel Systems over the already existing Scopus product.
Currently Siebel also needs to sustain their competitive advantage against prevalent competitors. They can do this by convincing Q&R and FleetBoston of the superiority of their SFA system over the existing Oracle system. This could well be done by demonstration, eradicating the need for an integrator and result in a huge financial transaction for Siebel Systems.
Furthermore, as they make the transition towards new software, Siebel would like to discourage the use of the old Scopus system. Although FleetBoston could very well employ the existing Scopus system with the help of integration, it is to Siebel’s advantage both financially and lawfully that the new Siebel SFA system be used in this case.
Problem Set
FleetBoston has excess licenses for its old Scopus software, which Siebel now owns the rights to. FleetBoston does a significant amount of business (“$30 million of cross-selling at stake… over the next couple of years” ) with Siebel and should not be slighted by losing their investment in these licenses. Currently they could push Scopus upon a reluctant Q&R and вЂ?get the job done’ while saving a lot of money.
Since Q&R has just been acquired by another company, it would be hard for the Siebel people to break through the upper ranks of FleetBoston and change their minds about the new deployment without taking extra time. The people who Mr. Carman had developed contacts and relationships with are now greatly diminished in importance within the new company, which complicates the future direction of the sales push.
With the acquisition of Q&R came new management and policies. One of the factors that hindered the progress of the transaction was the six months of paperwork that had to be carried out in order to see it through. If this same project were to proceed within FleetBoston, Siebel could face significant delays which could allow their competitors (namely Oracle) to catch up. As such any solution should be able to be implemented quickly so as to speed adoption through Q&R/FleetBoston.
Option Description
Option 1: Push ahead with the deal with Quick & Reilly
Quick & Reilly is satisfied with the quality of Siebel’s SFA. It also feels attracted to the reliability of Siebel Systems itself as a leader of SFA software industry, and can operate Siebel’s application on its current Oracle database table, which might save switching costs. Internally its CIO Ron Capodilupo and VP of marketing Cathy Ridley trust Siebel Systems wholeheartedly.
• Advantages: Siebel gets a deal that is worth $2.1 million, increasing Siebel’s quarterly financial numbers and showing Wall Street that it is the leading contender in SFA software. Also, Siebel can create a long-term relationship with Quick & Reilly by providing continuous customer satisfaction.
• Disadvantages: There is chance to damage the relationship with FleetBoston who took over Quick & Reilly and has been a valuable customer. It could destroy the prime objective of Siebel system; customer satisfaction. In addition, most people in IT are unfamiliar with SFA unlike the current Oracle system and some of them even came from Oracle.
Option 2: Cancel the deal with Quick & Reilly
FleetBoston is one of Siebel’s most important customers and is currently involved with some contracts with Siebel system over the next couple of years. Moreover, according to Siebel Core Values, Siebel must pursue the satisfaction of FleetBoston its customer.
• Advantages: Siebel Systems would keep a firm relationship with FleetBoston, which could make their future relationship