Kalamazoo changes tack in face of rivalry

Kalamazoo is to restructure and re-focus, following cut-throat competition in the ERP market and the increasing demand for services.

Kalamazoo is to restructure and re-focus, following cut-throat competition in the ERP market and the increasing demand for services.

The Var, which resells mid-range ERP products for Tetra and develops its own packages for the car and manufacturing industries, is preparing to reposition itself as a services-based company.

A year after the company began a strategic review, which resulted in 130 job losses in March, Andy Peart, head of marketing at Kalamazoo, admitted more redundancies could not be ruled out while the company concentrated on developing its services business.

"Kalamazoo will always need to sell product, but services consultancy is the future. The company is undergoing a substantial change in skillsets which, going forward, may result in reducing the resources dedicated to product development," Peart said.

He added that moves by rival ERP specialists such as Oracle and Peoplesoft into the mid market space, had played a part in the changes. However, Paul Lees, managing director of Sage Tetra Var MPS, maintained that the big ERP players would continue to have a hard time moving into smaller markets.

Peart said: "Increased competition made it harder for us to compete. Alliances have become the key and that has even meant working with competitors."