Lawson Software might be an unknown company in South Africa, but it intends to make a big splash in the local ERP pool.
Acknowledged as one of the top five ERP providers in the US, it has chosen SA as a "stepping off" point in a bid to expand from its traditional markets in the US and Europe. Another branch will open in Australia during March. The African division will operate in partnership with Dimension Data, of which it is a subsidiary.
Lawson Insight is already in use locally and a R6 million contract was recently concluded with Dimension Data Holdings to implement the ERP suite.
With major ERP vendors already settling into the local market, Lawson faces strong opposition but it believes its small stature can be turned into an advantage. In an admittedly rigged boxing match during the company launch, the "Lawson" fighter managed to drive his larger "SAP" opponent into a corner with some fast footwork, and delivered the knock-out blow. "We are faster on our feet than the heavyweights," says Chris Hodge, MD for the EMEA region. "And we provide leading-edge technology without the attitude."
Some of the launch attendees seemed to feel a little attitude might not be out of place. Lawson counts companies such as McDonalds and Firestone among its 2 600 clients. It has carved itself a $150 million niche market in the financial, human resources and procurement sectors, focusing on mid-tier organisations. "These organisations have historically been precluded from ERP solutions because of prohibitive costs," says local GM Cliff van Tonder. "We will offer the Lawson suite on a package rental basis at fixed monthly fees."
One of the product strengths to be highlighted in marketing will be implementation time, which can be as low as three months. "There is still time to implement Lawson from scratch and be prepared for the millennium switch," says Van Tonder.
Another inheritance the division hopes to gain from its parent is customer loyalty; the very first US client is still with Lawson. "We get a customer and then we keep him forever," says Richard Lawson, one of the company`s founders.
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