Many large growers and packers are facing increasing pressure from operational complexity, regulatory requirements, and evolving market demands. At ABC Software, we often hear from organisations that are struggling with software at end-of-life, fragmented systems that no longer scale with their business, or have gaps in functionality with their current software providers. Large organisations with significant IT capability and resources question whether to continue partnering with off-the-shelf solutions or invest in building custom systems in-house. Navigating these challenges effectively requires a clear understanding of the trade-offs between buying, building, and optimising software to support growth and compliance.
Pros of buying
The pros of buying software include:
- Faster implementation: Ready-to-use solutions can often be deployed quickly.
- Lower upfront development cost: No need to hire developers or invest in custom development.
- Proven reliability: Established providers of horticulture software are experts in their field, and their software is tried tested across multiple clients. Compliance-ready tools and reporting is built-in. A good provider will bring deep knowledge and innovative ideas.
- Support & updates included: The software provider handles bug fixes, security updates, and new features. You are not relying on the institutional knowledge of a small team.
- Scalability: A commercial solution should grow with your business, let you add modules and features as required and offer tiered pricing plans for SaaS products.
Cons of buying
Commons cons of buying software are:
- Limited customisation: May not fit your workflows or unique business needs.
- Vendor dependency: You rely on the vendor for updates and support.
- Ongoing subscription costs: SaaS or license fees can add up over time.
- Integration challenges: Off-the-shelf software might not integrate smoothly with existing systems.
- Feature bloat: You may pay for features you don’t use.
Pros of building
On the flipside the pros of building software in-house are:
- A fully tailored solution to match your exact business processes and workflows.
- You control features, updates, integration with existing internal systems, and future changes.
- In some areas, proprietary software may offer a competitive advantage if it can differentiate your business.
Cons of building
And the cons of building in-house:
- High upfront cost: Development, testing, and infrastructure is expensive.
- Longer time to deploy: Custom projects take months to years to deliver.
- Maintenance burden: Your team is responsible for updates, bug fixes, and security.
- Resource dependency: Requires skilled developers with extra resource during the build phrase, ongoing support staff, and outsourcing extra resource at times.
- Risk of project failure: Custom software projects can run over budget, behind schedule, and fail to meet requirements. A key challenge of managing an in-house project is making every decision and action informed, efficient, and effective.
Overcoming challenges
Let’s revisit the cons of buying and how ABC Software overcomes these factors.
Limited customisation: ABC Software’s SaaS products have been built over time with the input of a multitude of growers and packers across many produce types. As a result, they include a huge amount of flexibility and are designed to sit over your existing business process. Their on-premise solutions are fully customisable.
- Vendor dependency: You have access to a dedicated, highly skilled team that handles updates and feature development which ensures your software benefits from continuous improvements. Support is guaranteed to be available around the clock. This increases reliability and reduces internal overhead.
- Ongoing subscription costs: Annual SaaS or license fees are usually a fraction of what it would cost to hire and manage an internal team capable of delivering equivalent functionality. Further, it reduces risk of staff turnover, skills gaps, and failed projects.
- Integration challenges: Integrating with other systems requires development and maintenance regardless of whether you buy or build software. There are numerous instances where ABC Software integrates with third-party systems, for example an EDI with supermarket sales order systems in Australia.
- Feature bloat: ABC Software’s pricing structure is module-based, ensuring you only pay for what you use. Further, the SaaS subscription model has a tiered structure to ensure fairness and no cost blow out.
ABC Software has over 20 years in horticulture and sits at the sweet spot of having the scale to serve and the flexibility to adapt. For growers and packers weighing up whether to buy or build, the right decision depends on your long-term goals, internal capability, and appetite for ongoing maintenance. What’s most important is finding a solution that supports growth, compliance, and operational clarity, regardless of whether you partner with an experienced provider. ABC Software’s experience across the full horticultural value chain gives us a unique understanding of both sides of this equation, helping clients choose the most effective path forward for their business.