2014 ETRM / CTRM Vendor Perception Study
Commodity Technology Advisory llc
Why do perceptions matter?
This 2014 CTRM Vendor Perception Study has been developed to provide insights into how the users, buying decision
makers, and consultants that make-up the CTRM marketplace perceive the landscape of companies that produce and sell
CTRM/ETRM products.
But, why is this important?
Vendors spend significant sums creating brands and trying to familiarize potential buyers with their products and
capabilities; and via that process, work to establish a positive reputation in the market. Buyers will use their familiarity and
perceptions of those vendors when making decisions as to which vendors and products to include in a purchasing process.
Past research by the authors of this report indicate that buyers will initially use two sources of information when considering
which system to purchase: 1) their personal knowledge and experiences of having previously worked with a vendor or
software package, and 2) the knowledge, experiences and opinions of their peers in their industry.
Potential buyers who limit their search to those companies that they or their peers know are seeing only a relatively small
circle in the scheme of things. Depending on where a prospective buyer sits in the commodities market, there may be as
many as 15 or 20 potential solutions that could meet their needs and many of those will be missed if one simply relies on
friends or acquaintances to name them. Further, this method of identifying potential vendors simply reinforces the standing
of the companies that have been the most successful over time. It doesn’t allow room for smaller companies or start-ups to
have an equal footing in the purchase decision process, potentially never getting an “at bat” as the market just doesn’t have
the same history and familiarity with them as they do with the market leaders.
So, it’s important that buyers become familiar with all the potential vendors if they wish to find a solution that best fits their
needs. It’s equally important that vendors help those market participants become familiar with them by investing in
marketing and sales - establishing themselves in the market as a company that should be considered for every opportunity
that falls within the functional and geographic scope of their products.
With that being said, this research is intended to address a number of objectives. First, it does provide those that are
contemplating purchasing a new system, the views of a wider peer group from which to get feedback. Second, it provides
vendors a measure – a report card if you will - to determine their success in establishing and/or maintaining market
awareness and perceptions of leadership; or for the smaller and start-up companies, a gauge of how well they’ve done in
establishing themselves as players in the game.
Beyond measuring familiarity and perceptions of leadership in specific categories of commodities, we have used this
research opportunity to look at a number of