Thinking about a policy administration system for your company?  Based on the results of a survey and research I conducted for SMA in 2014, many of you are.  In fact, almost 50% of those TMPAA members who participated in the survey said this was a priority for them.

Whether to grow your book of business without increasing staff, simply to become more efficient, to replace an older legacy system or because your carrier partner expects you to bring a systems solution along with your business, system replacement is a priority for many program administrators.

But how do you approach it?  Where do you start?  There are so many solutions to choose from!  You need to find the right solution to meet your business needs and a vendor who can become a true partner.

Finding that system is tricky and complicated.   It should never be simply to find the cheapest solution.  Before you start down this path, you need to know your business needs and where you want your company to be in the future.  A business strategy drives the choice of system.  It is just as important to know how the solution can meet your future needs as it is critical to find a solution to satisfy your current requirements.  Equally important, though, is the style and philosophy of the vendor.  Some vendors like to implement and disappear, leaving all future modifications I your hands.  Others want to be collaborative and be there when and if you need them, becoming your key technology partner.  What kind of partner works for your company?

Finally, vendor selection itself takes time and effort if you want to do it properly.  If you haven’t gone through a large vendor selection project before, you might want to engage a consultant to shepherd the process.   There are several vendors who do vendor selection well, who know the real capabilities of the solutions and who can bring templates and proven techniques to the table.  If you take the effort seriously and commit the time it takes, you will end up with a good result.  

I will continue to provide periodic articles that build on technology efficiencies, vendor selection as well as project management and industry trends.  If you would like more information on this or any other topic, feel free to contact me at wayne@umlandconsulting.com.  

Wayne Umland Consulting, LLC
2060 Rosewood Lane
York, PA  17403
(717) 487-4089
www.wayneumlandconsulting.com