In the world of Procurement, smart use of company resources, be it people, time or money, is the name of the game. With IT costs continuing to rise, finding the balance to reduce operating expenditures while enabling company growth is a constant challenge.
In a recent episode of the Smarts in Procurement podcast, hosted by Pini Snir, I was joined by our client, Salit Golani, Head of Organizational Systems and QA at Delek Israel, a leading fuel and retail company that owns subsidiaries such as Burger King and Café Joe. Together, we shared how third-party software support from Rimini Street has helped Delek Israel buy time, get better service and benefit from a broader scope of services.
Delek Israel Explores ERP Support Procurement Options
Delek Israel was faced with a critical decision regarding its ERP systems: a costly forced upgrade to maintain vendor support or look for alternative solutions. This is not an isolated scenario, as software vendors often use the same tactic to drive new sales and activities from its customers.
When Delek Israel learned of the Rimini Street support model which replaced vendor support and is delivered by a global team of engineers with deep ERP expertise, it eliminated their worry over upgrades and fit their needs completely. “I welcomed the decision. I think it also gave the organization time to mature,” Golani said.
As many software customers know, and affirmed in Golani’s words, “Upgrading an ERP system is a very heavy, very important process that requires a lot of organizational resources.” By partnering with Rimini Street, Delek Israel could take the time needed to evaluate their options while accessing support that according to Golani, “gave us the peace of mind, and the confidence to continue operating and doing projects.”
Software procurement isn’t just about the numbers. It’s about ensuring long-term value and operational efficiency. Traditionally, organizations that use software support from major vendors are locked into mandatory agreements, often costing up to 22% of the license price annually. This leaves many organizations paying premium fees for support that doesn’t meet their evolving needs or even apply to the versions that they’re running.
One of the biggest misconceptions about third-party software support, according to Golani, is that it could compromise service quality. As Delek Israel’s experience illustrates, the opposite is true. Unlike vendor support models that rely on tiered escalation, Rimini Street assigns senior engineers to handle cases from the outset. This results in faster resolution times, greater system stability, and reduced dependency on external contractors.
How the Rimini Street Support Model Delivers for Delek Israel
Rimini Street reimagines the traditional ERP support model by offering enterprise software support at a significantly lower cost, often 50% of what vendors charge, with a dramatically higher value. But cost savings are just the beginning. For Delek Israel, Rimini Street provides:
Proactive Support: With a dedicated Primary Support Engineer backed by a bench of 800 experienced engineers worldwide, the Rimini Street team, including local Israeli engineers, provide tailored assistance, understanding Delek’s unique business requirements. “There is an Israeli team that knows us. We know them personally…The response is always professional, always personal. And beyond the Israeli team that knows us and our environment, when there are urgent matters, there are Rimini Street engineers around the world who know how to support everything,” Golani said.
Extended System Lifespan: Delek Israel can continue using their existing software versions without disruptive upgrades, maximizing ROI and maintaining stability. Resources initially earmarked for ERP upgrades were redirected toward business innovation projects. “We’ve been with Rimini Street for many years. During those years, we’ve channeled our resources into a lot of business projects instead of into an expensive upgrade,” Golani reported.
Regulatory Compliance: When complex new invoice regulations were announced by the government, Rimini Street helped Delek Israel prepare their systems for the changes while also enabling strategic IT innovation. Golani shared, “Rimini Street took the gauntlet even without us contacting them…the implementation of the regulation required a great deal of internal preparation from us…the active help we received from Rimini Street…was both proactive and responsive.”
Support that Frees Up Time for the IT Team
The host even referred to the Rimini Street support model as a “real revolution in the world of procurement of services in the software world.” Golani shared a specific example of what makes Rimini Street stand out. She recalls a time when Delek Israel experienced a glitch that caused an outage in the internal processes of the ERP system, “We were sure that we could handle it ourselves. After troubleshooting for two whole days, we were unable to make the processes work properly. Finally, we decided to call Rimini Street. We opened a high severity ticket and within a few minutes an engineer was assigned. With Rimini Street’s follow-the-sun support model, we had an engineer assigned to us around the clock until the glitch was resolved. Our entire professional team quickly hopped on a Team’s call with the engineering team at Rimini Street and we had a breakthrough that not only got the processes running but also helped us prevent it from happening again. One of the conclusions from the incident was to involve Rimini Street earlier to solve issues faster.” With an under 2-minute response time for P1 critical issues and SLA-backed ticket updates, Golani and her team can just submit a ticket instead of spending days troubleshooting glitches.
This is what makes me so proud to share our story to the world, as our services really do make a positive impact to our clients and the industry at large.
The Procurement Takeaway: Cost vs. Value
In a recent survey, 72% of surveyed CIOs and CFOs say they’re challenged with inadequate support and service from their vendor. For procurement leaders, that’s a cue to look beyond cost to the benefits that can help organizations drive operational excellence and focus on delivering innovation. Though there are dramatic cost savings to be had, often the real value for Rimini Street clients goes way beyond the financial benefits:
- Total cost of ownership: Factor in not just support fees but also the hidden costs of vendor-driven upgrades to maintain support, self-support for customizations, and finding scarce skillsets to maintain out-of-support software. This equates to a savings of up to 90% off total annual maintenance costs when you choose Rimini Street.
- Service quality: By leveraging expert-level, personalized support, you can reduce the frustrations of waiting around for the vendor to respond or being told that your issue can’t be resolved because you’ve customized your system around your business goals. Time is money, and that can be better spent on strategic projects for growth.
- Strategic flexibility: Rather than following a vendor-dictated roadmap, choose options that allow your organization to innovate at its own pace. With freed up funds and resources, you can confidently invest in emerging technology and strategies that evolve with your business. Start with the business needs first, then see how and which systems and tools you need to accomplish them, not the other way around.
Key Takeaways
For Delek, Rimini Street’s third-party support is a strategic decision that empowers them to optimize their IT investments while gaining superior service. As this partnership demonstrates, the right procurement strategy can turn software support into a competitive advantage.
For procurement professionals looking to navigate the complexities of enterprise software support, this conversation is a powerful reminder: savings, service quality, and strategic growth are not mutually exclusive — they go hand in hand.
