November 2008
Featured Story
Message from Trisha Gross, President and CEO, Hubspan
As 2008 draws to a close, we are faced with unprecedented economic uncertainty looking forward to 2009. While the current turmoil originated in the financial sector, there is no question that there are far reaching impacts on all businesses regardless of industry or geographic location. We continue to hear that the rules of finance, consumer spending, and business in general are being rewritten and we believe this to be true. While we don’t have a crystal ball, at Hubspan we clearly recognize the challenges ahead and want to offer five guiding principles that enable businesses to more easily navigate the new world that lies ahead.
1. Do more with less
A recent CIO Magazine survey revealed that 46% of CIOs have put a freeze on IT hiring in response to tough economic conditions, while 23% have begun to reduce IT headcount in the past 6 months. Despite this move, many companies have already made significant investments in software and systems and can look to leverage these existing investments to their fullest to accomplish the “more with less” goal. At Hubspan, we can help by augmenting and leveraging these existing investments as well as by providing integration resources and expertise you need on-demand and at a compelling total cost regardless of the size of the project.
2. Drive revenue
Most organizations are struggling to meet revenue targets for 2008 and are challenged to accurately project demand for 2009. Now more than ever it is important to not only build top line revenue, but also retain the revenue base that has been established. Business Integration is a key strategic weapon that companies can use to retain and increase revenue from existing customers as well as compete for new business. Comments from one of our customers…
“Invitrogen’s partnership with Hubspan has scaled our B2B eCommerce business faster and more cost effectively than any other solution available to us today. eCommerce contributes 50 percent of Invitrogen’s revenue so it is critical that we have a reliable and consistent solution for our customers and our business. Hubspan has proven to be the right partner for our eCommerce needs.” Shawnn Smark, Head of Global eCommerce, Invitrogen.
At Hubspan we have solutions that can directly impact top line revenue within a matter of weeks and open new revenue channels for your business.
3. Take out costs wherever possible
In the face of economic adversity, many organizations are focused on aggressively managing expenses throughout the value chain. For example, how many payments and orders do you process per day, per month, or per year?
According to Aberdeen Group, fully automating the Accounts Payable process can help companies save $10.87 per payment, which is about $1.1 million for businesses processing 100,000 payments per year[1].
According to another study from Aberdeen Group, the average cost to process a Purchase Order is $71. How many orders do you process per day, per month, or per year? Our customers have realized significant savings by automating their ordering processes with some reducing costs as much as 60% (~$43) per order[2].
Hubspan automates these processes allowing you to rapidly realize cost savings by driving out current inefficiencies.
4. Increase demand visibility
We cannot control the future but we can certainly respond more effectively if we have visibility to what is happening. Understanding and anticipating demand patterns as well as tightly managing associated inventory levels up and down your supply chain is critical. Business process and system integration can tightly connect you with your suppliers, distribution partners, and end-customers (and provide differentiation) thus providing real time visibility to what is happening outside of your four walls.
Achieving broad integration with partners regardless of system, data format, or transport protocol can be expensive and time consuming. At Hubspan, our highly flexible on-demand platform can quickly provide the visibility you need without breaking the bank.
5. Position the organization to capitalize on future growth
As we all know, the economy is cyclical and this chaotic time will eventually pass for all of us. Now is the time to focus on efficiencies that can benefit the organization both today and in the future and it is important to make certain your organization is positioned to take advantage when the tide begins to rise. Establishing best practices of integration throughout the value chain is a great place to start. The agility and innovation demonstrated during this time will offer immense return on investment as the economy strengthens.
At Hubspan, our pricing structure is simple and predictable. It is based upon connections rather than transaction volume, providing cost scalability which does not penalize our customers for transaction or revenue growth. This means our customers have the best of both worlds – a starting price point that is commensurate with the scope of work as well as a predictable expense that is not tied to transaction volume.
[1] Aberdeen Group, E-Payables Solution Selection: Your 2007–2008 Guide to A/P Transformation, September 2007
[2] Aberdeen Group, The Supplier Enablement Benchmark Report, March 2006
Hubspan In The News
Hubspan and Visa Align to Deliver Data Integration Services for Financial Institutions
This new alliance helps streamline integration of Visa’s Accounts Payable Automation Service for banks and their corporate customers. Hubspan has developed tailored solutions to address the specific integration challenges of accounts payable files. The solution helps enable a seamless connection between Visa, issuers and corporate customer systems by mediating differences in processes, data formats and transport protocols that can hinder collaboration.
Hubspan Extends E-Commerce Services to SciQuest’s Supplier Network
Hubspan’s on-demand integration solutions present suppliers in the SciQuest network with a fast alternative for automating e-commerce processes. Hubspan will offer integration packages that help SciQuest suppliers convert from paper–based processing to more advanced cXML and electronic connections. Specifically designed for the fast growing SciQuest supplier base, these new connector packages allow automation on a customer-by-customer basis, while accelerating growth and reducing processing costs for suppliers and their customers.
Industry Focus
Process Automation Identified as Mission-Critical for Logistics Companies
MarketInsight study identifies process automation as a strategic essential for logistics providers operating in today’s tough economy. The study focuses on opportunities for logistics providers to improve collaboration, streamline shared processes, and achieve operational efficiencies.
The Hubspan MarketInsight study surveyed more than 200 North American logistics companies with annual revenue between $30 million and $10 billion. Of those surveyed, 92 percent identified process automation between customers, carriers and distributors as critical for doing business in the current market.