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What Does a System Integrator Do & How Can They Help You?

September 6th, 2022 (Updated 03/10/2023) | 8 min. read

By Joe Golemba

Pricing software is a hot topic for many companies right now and becoming more so with each passing day as tricky and tough to navigate economic conditions bite globally. Companies just like yours are making decisions to switch to automated price optimization and management software in droves right now to help drive business efficiencies and prevent margin loss. Sure, you know your company can benefit too, but your internal IT Team do not have the resources to manage the pricing software implementation and integration tasks and/or they are already committed elsewhere to other jobs. That’s your predicament? The time has arrived to consider working with a System Integrator (SI). 

At Pricefx, for more than a decade now we have been empowering hundreds of businesses just like yours to find their own unique pricing niches with the use of innovative pricing software technology. On many occasions, we’ve matched them with our pricing industry partners including System Integrators that can assist them in achieving their unique set of business goals and getting their software integrated and driving its way towards return-on-investment (ROI) ASAP. 

So, let’s get started by drilling down into more detail what a systems integrator does and the different and additional bonus ways that an SI can boost your unique set of business objectives. 

What Does a System Integrator Do? 

SIs are just one of 4 main types of pricing software partners that work hand-in-hand with pricing vendors to help companies realize their business objectives.  

In addition to the important work that SIs do in helping businesses implement and integrate a pricing software solution to become a seamless part of a company tech stack, businesses also work with strategy partners, ISV (Independent Software Vendors)/Technology Partners and Value-Added Resellers (VARs). 

For the sake of this article, we will be taking a deeper dive for those of you that are interested in how SIs can help bring your pricing software integration/implementation to fruition quickly on a fast track to ROI.

However, if you would like to get a general overview of the roles of diverse types of pricing software partners, check out this article link directly below;

CTA-How-to-choose-the-right-pricing-partner-for-you

How a System Integrator Can Help You in Your Pricing Software Project 

Most importantly, SIs have the technical expertise and experience required to implement and integrate a pricing software solution into other systems like e-commerce platforms, CRMs (Customer Relationship Management Systems), ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) and more. The result means regardless of the disparate systems that you may have in your business, a good SI can have into all linked and working together as a harmonious until. 

While some SIs specialize only in implementations and integrations, other SIs also include a pricing strategy consultancy string to the bow. The important thing that we’ve discovered for many of our clients is that it means that many businesses can enjoy the benefits of a ’one-stop’ pricing partner shop. 

Why Use a System Integrator? 

In the current pricing environment, with organizations looking to streamline their own pricing efficiencies in addition to optimizing prices and preventing margin leakage, they require an unparalleled level of synchronicity between their different business systems. Unintegrated systems have the potential to result in significant cost increases, double-handling, and are prone to error. It’s like trying to maintain an even pace on your morning run and one leg is walking and the other one is sprinting like Usain Bolt.  

An SI will supply you with your pricing software integration ‘Goldilocks Zone’ and ensure the right tools are connecting your systems and they will also advise you what other system can be connected to hyper drive efficiencies in your system.

 

SIs are the puzzle solvers that piece together all the intricate parts of your organization’s systems and integrate it to the pricing software itself, and all the data science and analytics components, price optimization tools, and other digital transformations that will make your business a more profitable one.

What that means for your business will be easy access to a pricing system where all sections are harmoniously working across your multiple sales channels and providing price guidance and insights to bring your organization’s unique pricing strategy to life. 

What Company Types Should Use a System Integrator? 

Specifically, global companies or businesses that work across multiple jurisdictions with diverse tax rules and disparate financial regulations usually have the most to gain by working together with a SI. Multinational/multijurisdictional organizations can take advantage of an SI’s expertise by harmonizing their pricing systems across regions.  

For example, a good SI can help you integrate an AI-informed price optimization software solution that can segment your customers, products, and transactions across all the regions you operate in, a vital recipe for success for organizations of that type.

More generally speaking, any business that is looking for help with implementing pricing software or integrating their pricing solution in order to bring a modern and coordinated pricing strategy to life has a lot to gain by collaborating with a quality SI. 

Why NOT to Choose a System Integrator? 

If you are looking to build customized functionality into your pricing system that does not come ‘out of the box’ from your pricing software vendor, an SI is not for you. 

Companies that are looking to add special pricing software features, your best outcomes will come from working directly with your pricing software vendor. 

Vendors know their own systems better than anyone else and they are always the best for collaborations on unique software ‘add-ons.’

Who knows, they may have previously built exactly the pricing software feature you are seeking for another client.

How to Choose the Best System Integrator for Your Business 

An SI can offer your business a wide range of services from pre-sales consulting through to integration/implementation or even managed services that can customize your pricing software for the unique purposes that you require. 

When choosing the right SI for your organization, consider the following factors; 

  • Applicable System Experience – Choose a system integrator that has experience implementing your chosen pricing software vendor to the specific systems (ERPs, CRMs, eCommerce software etc.) you need to integrate with.  
  • Industry Expertise – An SI with broad experience across a range of different sectors is important, however, of even more importance in recent demonstrated expertise in working with companies in your company’s specific industry sector. 
  • Global Integration Experience – If you work across borders, an SI with previous experience in managing integrations for business at the global level is critical to the success of your pricing software integration. Experts understand specialized tax arrangements and local codes better than anyone. 

System Integrators vs VARs – Not to be Confused 

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Value-added resellers and SIs are pricing partners that roles frequently overlap. A VAR resells networking, hardware and pricing software products and often provides services to create and implement unified pricing solutions. In that capacity, a VAR can be seen to perform similar roles to a systems integrator.  

On the flip side, an SI can sometimes act as a VAR, reselling products to customers as part of a systems integration project. 

The main point of differentiation between the two is that VARs tend to focus on small-to- midsize business customers and offer boutique pricing software systems.  

Conversely, systems integrators tend to engage with large enterprise companies and work on large-scale pricing software projects that can span multiple customer locations or, possibly across multiple countries.  

Bring Pricing Expertise & Time to Value with a Systems Integrator 

Now you know what a System Integrator is, what they do and the value that they can bring to your business. As they work directly in implementations and integrations day in and day out, they know how to bring the value of your pricing software to bear faster and smoother than pricing software vendors do themselves. Top notch systems integrators usually exhibit deep and specific industry expertise and usually know a few shortcuts that even vendors aren’t aware of in their own products, giving you more flexibility to digitally transform your organization’s pricing. 

If you’re an organization looking for pricing software with a strong System Integrator partnership focus across a range of industries and specialty areas of expertise, then you will want to learn more about the Advantage Pricefx Partner Network and the pricing software partners available for your business to work with, or more generally check out the article link below to discuss more benefits of working with a pricing software partner; 

CTA-Benefits-of-Working-With-A-Software-Partner

 

On the flip side, if you would like more in-depth knowledge and understanding of the distinct phases of a pricing software project, check out the article link below to learn more; 

 

CTA-Phases-of-a-Pricing-Software-Project

Joe Golemba

VP Ecosystem & Partners , Pricefx

Joe Golemba has over 25 years in the consulting and technology space. He manages Pricefx’s global strategic partnerships including SAP, AWS, and more while curating the industry’s leading pricing partner program, Advantage Pricefx. In addition to his global ecosystem development experience, Joe has also held executive Product Management and Executive Consulting Practice leadership positions. Prior to joining Pricefx, Joe held various leadership positions at inRiver, Model N, Oracle, Stellent (Acquired by Oracle), IBM & PricewaterhouseCoopers (Acquired by IBM).