Basware, the Finland-based e-invoice operator and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software vendor, in 2013 was going through a large and significant transition: moving from selling and installing licensed software to selling Software as a Service (SaaS). Basware, which sold automated Purchase-to-Pay alternatives for Business to Business to 2,000 Nordic and international clients, was reacting to a sharp decline in those sales in the preceding few years; more and more customers were switching to competitors that offered SaaS (With SaaS, sellers saved a client's data in an external server or in the cloud, and kept the software and applicable hardware). Transitioning to SaaS demanded the EUR114 million company concurrently to transform culture, business model, technology and its strategy; and the change procedure was bumpy. SaaS customers paid as they used services, rather than upfront as they did with setup company and the authorized applications; difference had an immediate negative impact on Basware's earnings stream. Basware additionally needed to reorganize its sales people needed to be retrained or transitioned outside, as a global organization, and its particular culture needed to adjust to match these quick changes. At precisely the same time, Basware's e-invoice operator business was booming.
In 2013, there were an estimated 63 million trades to the other side of the Basware Commerce Network, and also the company anticipated to reach 150 million trades by the end of 2015. Speed was the name of the game for Basware, as the size of the network was Basware's competitive advantage and as each transaction brought in cash. Although the software and e-invoicing businesses were two different businesses, they were synergistic. The more customers moved from paper to e-invoicing, the more they were able to utilize the entire functionality of the automated applications options of Basware.
PUBLICATION DATE: February 06, 2014 PRODUCT #: SM219-HCB-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about LEADERSHIP & MANAGING PEOPLE
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