Logility Supply Chain Solutions Inc (LGTY) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's fourth quarter and fiscal year 2023 results for American Software. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this call may be recorded. (Operator Instructions)

大家好，歡迎來到美國軟件公司今天發布的第四季度和 2023 財年業績。 （操作員說明）請注意，此通話可能會被錄音。 （操作員說明）

It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Vince Klinges, CFO of American Software. Please go ahead.

現在我很高興將會議交給 American Software 首席財務官 Vince Klinges。請繼續。

Thank you, Reza.

謝謝你，雷扎。

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to American Software's Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. On the call with me is Allan Dow, President and CEO of American Software. Allan will provide some opening remarks, and then I will review the numbers. But first, our safe harbor statement.

大家下午好，歡迎參加美國軟件公司 2023 年第四季度財報電話會議。與我通話的是美國軟件公司總裁兼首席執行官艾倫·道 (Allan Dow)。艾倫將發表一些開場白，然後我將回顧這些數字。但首先，我們的安全港聲明。

This conference call may contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding, among other things, our business strategy and growth strategy. Any such forward-looking statements speak only as of this date. These forward-looking statements are based largely on our expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and are beyond our control. Future developments and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by or underlying the forward-looking statements.

本次電話會議可能包含前瞻性聲明，包括有關我們的業務戰略和增長戰略等的聲明。任何此類前瞻性陳述僅代表當前情況。這些前瞻性陳述主要基於我們的預期，並受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，其中一些風險和不確定性無法預測或量化，並且超出了我們的控制範圍。未來的發展和實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中闡述、預期或潛在的結果存在重大差異。

There are a number of facts that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by statements made on this call. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes and uncertainty in general economic conditions, the growth rate of the market for our products and services, the timely availability and market acceptance of these products and services, the effect of competitive products and pricing and other competitive pressures and the irregular and unpredictable pattern of revenues. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate.

有許多事實可能導致實際結果與本次電話會議中聲明的預期存在重大差異。這些因素包括但不限於總體經濟狀況的變化和不確定性、我們的產品和服務的市場增長率、這些產品和服務的及時可用性和市場接受度、競爭性產品和定價的影響以及其他競爭壓力以及不規則且不可預測的收入模式。鑑於這些風險和不確定性，無法保證前瞻性信息將被證明是準確的。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Allan for opening remarks.

現在，我想將電話轉給艾倫致開幕詞。

Thank you, Vince. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today.

謝謝你，文斯。大家下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。

I'd like to begin by reviewing our fourth quarter results, providing an update on the current business environment, ensuring our initial outlook for the fiscal year 2024.

我想首先回顧一下我們第四季度的業績，提供當前商業環境的最新情況，以確保我們對 2024 財年的初步展望。

After experiencing delays in deal closures over the past several quarters, I'm pleased to report that we had a strong finish to the year. We had a strong closure rate and our gross subscription bookings were at the highest level of any quarter this year. This was evidenced by our RPO expansion of 4% quarter-over-quarter with progress in both short- and long-term components.

在經歷了過去幾個季度交易完成的延遲之後，我很高興地報告說，我們今年取得了強勁的業績。我們的成交率很高，我們的總訂閱預訂量達到了今年任何季度的最高水平。我們的 RPO 環比增長 4%，短期和長期部分都取得了進展，就證明了這一點。

During the quarter, we had a bias towards new logo wins, which was not unusual when considering the prior quarters were heavily skewed towards existing clients as those transactions with new prospects face greater scrutiny. We still anticipate that over the year, our new cloud bookings will be split evenly between new and existing clients. However, we could see a bias toward existing clients if the economic pressures accelerate because existing client projects have easier and faster approval rates, given that they're typically smaller add-on projects.

在本季度，我們偏向於贏得新徽標，考慮到前幾個季度嚴重偏向現有客戶，這並不罕見，因為那些與新潛在客戶的交易面臨更嚴格的審查。我們仍然預計，今年我們的新雲預訂將在新客戶和現有客戶之間平均分配。然而，如果經濟壓力加劇，我們可能會看到對現有客戶的偏見，因為現有客戶項目通常是較小的附加項目，因此批准率更容易、更快。

Although our new bookings performance was encouraging, the ongoing economic stress had a direct consequence on our fourth quarter revenue, most notably on our cloud revenue growth. Where we typically see only churn for small nonstrategic subscriptions in temporary projects, in the fourth quarter, we took some very unusual adjustments.

儘管我們的新預訂業績令人鼓舞，但持續的經濟壓力對我們第四季度的收入產生了直接影響，尤其是我們的雲收入增長。我們通常只會看到臨時項目中小型非戰略訂閱的流失，但在第四季度，我們採取了一些非常不尋常的調整。

Specifically, we were negatively impacted by a bankruptcy, and we put a few contracts into suspension due to delays on renewals and payments. We anticipate that a few of these may be recovered later this year, but we took a very conservative approach and removed all the revenue on those contracts from our fourth quarter results and from the RPO.

具體來說，我們受到破產的負面影響，並且由於續約和付款延遲，我們暫停了一些合同。我們預計其中一些可能會在今年晚些時候收回，但我們採取了非常保守的方法，從第四季度業績和 RPO 中刪除了這些合同的所有收入。

The net result was a wash in the sequential gains we would otherwise have achieved in cloud revenue in the fourth quarter. We expect to see an uplift in Q1 resulting from those Q4 bookings, but several of those projects started too late in the quarter to fully offset the cancellations. Vince will provide some additional commentary on the impact of these cancellations. However, we expect the year ahead to track along our normal churn rates.

最終結果是我們本應在第四季度實現的雲收入連續增長。我們預計第四季度的預訂量將導致第一季度的增長，但其中一些項目在本季度啟動得太晚，無法完全抵消取消的影響。文斯將對這些取消的影響提供一些額外的評論。然而，我們預計未來一年的客戶流失率將保持正常水平。

In the end, we were very pleased that our cloud revenue was up 18% year-over-year in the fourth quarter and for the full fiscal year 2023, we were up 20% year-over-year. This is great progress from our primary objective of growing our recurring revenue which again represented 71% of our total revenue this past quarter, exceeding the 70% threshold for the second quarter in a row.

最後，我們非常高興的是，我們的雲收入在第四季度同比增長了 18%，而在 2023 年整個財年，我們的雲收入同比增長了 20%。這與我們增加經常性收入的主要目標相比取得了巨大進步，上一季度我們的經常性收入再次佔總收入的 71%，連續第二季度超過了 70% 的門檻。

We also saw continued downward pressure on our services revenue. Specifically, the economically sensitive IT staffing business experienced significant decline and they continue to see volatility. However, we are focused on improving the margin within that business by adjusting staffing levels and by emphasizing higher-margin contract rates.

我們還看到服務收入持續面臨下行壓力。具體來說，對經濟敏感的 IT 人員配置業務經歷了大幅下滑，並且持續波動。然而，我們的重點是通過調整人員配置水平和強調更高利潤率的合同率來提高該業務的利潤率。

Furthermore, in our Supply Chain business, the impact of our simplification initiative is reducing the overall effort from each project, and we also continue to outsource incrementally more work to our service partners. These efforts will give us improvements, surge capacity, a broader market reach and a continued emphasis on our more reliable recurring revenue streams.

此外，在我們的供應鏈業務中，我們的簡化計劃的影響正在減少每個項目的總體工作量，並且我們還繼續將更多工作外包給我們的服務合作夥伴。這些努力將為我們帶來改進、激增的產能、更廣泛的市場覆蓋範圍，並繼續強調我們更可靠的經常性收入來源。

Although the economic uncertainty continues to persist, we are cautiously optimistic as we enter the fiscal year 2024. The remainder of this calendar year is the hardest to predict given the headwinds from recent interest rate hikes, regional banking issues and recession fears, but the longer term trends all point to a strong market for supply chain planning solutions for years to come.

儘管經濟不確定性繼續存在，但隨著我們進入 2024 財年，我們持謹慎樂觀的態度。鑑於近期加息、區域銀行問題和衰退擔憂帶來的阻力，本日曆年剩餘時間是最難預測的，但更長時間術語趨勢都表明未來幾年供應鏈規劃解決方案市場將會強勁。

Currently, the potential for a recession continues to create uncertainty in our core consumer goods markets. We have seen both existing clients and prospects carefully scrutinizing their costs, resulting in longer collection times and elongated sales cycles. The selection process is taking 1 or 2 months longer, but even more exaggerated is the approval cycle, which has gone from 4 to 6 weeks to 2 to 3 months with a lot of pushback on the ROI justification and the time to value questions.

目前，經濟衰退的可能性繼續給我們的核心消費品市場帶來不確定性。我們看到現有客戶和潛在客戶都仔細審查他們的成本，導致收貨時間更長和銷售週期更長。選擇過程花費了 1 到 2 個月的時間，但更誇張的是審批週期，從 4 到 6 周延長到 2 到 3 個月，投資回報率理由和價值時間問題受到了很多阻力。

This favors our prescriptive DNA brand, which consists of value-driven agile implementations, prescriptive methodology tailored to each client's needs and an off-the-shelf configurable solution, but it also creates more uncertainty into the timing of specific deal closures. Our overall pipeline is still continuing to grow. It's up about 10% over this time last year, even with the accelerated closure rates at the end of the fourth quarter, having offset some of the top of the funnel.

這有利於我們的規範性 DNA 品牌，該品牌由價值驅動的敏捷實施、根據每個客戶的需求量身定制的規範性方法以及現成的可配置解決方案組成，但它也給具體交易結束的時間帶來了更多的不確定性。我們的整體管道仍在繼續增長。儘管第四季度末關閉率加快，但與去年同期相比，該數字仍上漲了約 10%，抵消了部分漏斗頂部的影響。

Additionally, with the large installed base, most of which is still on-prem, we have ample pipeline to support the accelerated lift and shift transition objectives that we set out for this fiscal year. Our goal is to significantly increase our conversions this year, potentially triple the historic trend of 10 or 12. First and foremost, these transitions give our clients the opportunity to take advantage of all the new features from newer releases, but also continues to build upon the recurring revenue stream, enhancing the strength and predictability of our financial model.

此外，憑藉龐大的安裝基礎（其中大部分仍在本地），我們有充足的管道來支持我們為本財年設定的加速提升和轉變過渡目標。我們的目標是顯著提高今年的轉化率，可能是 10 或 12 的歷史趨勢的三倍。首先，這些轉變使我們的客戶有機會利用新版本中的所有新功能，但也繼續建立在經常性收入流，增強我們財務模型的強度和可預測性。

One interesting transition is that the staffing pressure has been relieved due to recent layoffs in our sector, which will allow us now to continue to focus hires in critical areas of need and to backfill only those critical role vacancies as you see the need arise as opposed to prehiring or having underutilized bench strength to hedge against the labor stresses. We will, of course, continue to control our costs and with the goal of maintaining a flat to slight reduction in overall cost this year in spite of some of the accelerating demand.

一個有趣的轉變是，由於我們行業最近的裁員，人員配備壓力得到了緩解，這將使我們現在能夠繼續將招聘重點放在需要的關鍵領域，並僅在您看到需要時才填補那些關鍵職位空缺。提前僱用或未充分利用替補人員來應對勞動力壓力。當然，我們將繼續控製成本，儘管需求有所增長，但今年的總體成本仍保持平穩或小幅下降。

On the acquisition front, first, we continue to see positive momentum with our network design and optimization solution from the Starboard acquisition. We're still building that book of business with new wins from both stand-alone projects as well as part of an integrated transformational suite, where it is used strategically to optimize the existing supply chain network utilization.

在收購方面，首先，我們繼續看到 Starboard 收購帶來的網絡設計和優化解決方案的積極勢頭。我們仍在通過獨立項目和集成轉型套件的一部分取得新的成果來建立業務，戰略性地使用它來優化現有的供應鍊網絡利用率。

Furthermore, we believe the recent layoffs at Coupa will result in accelerated defections from the LLamasoft community, creating even more market demand for the easy-to-use sustainable model that we offer. We're making progress in our efforts to find new acquisitions that will be complementary to our current platform. We believe that it is likely that we will be able to meet our goal of ingesting one or more strategic fit companies this year utilizing our on-hand cash for a stronger investor return while maintaining the quarterly dividend, which is covered by earnings from our operations.

此外，我們相信 Coupa 最近的裁員將導致 LLamasoft 社區加速流失，從而為我們提供的易於使用的可持續模型創造更多的市場需求。我們正在努力尋找新的收購來補充我們當前的平台，並取得進展。我們相信，我們今年很可能能夠實現利用我們現有現金吸收一家或多家戰略合適公司的目標，以獲得更強勁的投資者回報，同時維持季度股息，該股息由我們的運營收益支付。

As we look forward to the fiscal year ahead, we remain bullish on the supply chain planning market and our ability to compete effectively. However, we're taking a conservative approach to our financial guidance due to the increasing economic uncertainty in North America, which is by far our largest market and the continued pause in new projects in Europe, where some of the largest economies have already entered into a recession and facing continued weight of the ongoing war.

在展望未來財年時，我們仍然看好供應鏈規劃市場和我們有效競爭的能力。然而，由於北美（迄今為止我們最大的市場）的經濟不確定性不斷增加，以及歐洲新項目的持續暫停（歐洲一些最大的經濟體已經進入），我們對財務指引採取了保守的態度。經濟衰退並面臨持續戰爭的持續壓力。

Our guidance metrics remain unchanged from last year, but we would place greater emphasis on the guidance for recurring revenue and the adjusted EBITDA as these remain the most stable metrics. We anticipate that the professional services revenue streams may remain under a lot of pressure, particularly in the economically sensitive noncore IT services segment.

我們的指導指標與去年保持不變，但我們將更加重視經常性收入和調整後 EBITDA 的指導，因為這些仍然是最穩定的指標。我們預計專業服務收入流可能仍面臨很大壓力，特別是在經濟敏感的非核心 IT 服務領域。

For fiscal 2024, we're expecting recurring revenue to be between $88 million and $92 million. For adjusted EBITDA, which removes the acquisition costs and stock-based compensation to be between $19 million and $21 million and for total revenue to be between $120 million and $126 million. However, as noted earlier, the total revenue outcome will be highly dependent on the variations in the IT services business.

2024 財年，我們預計經常性收入將在 8800 萬美元至 9200 萬美元之間。調整後的 EBITDA（扣除收購成本和股票薪酬）在 1900 萬至 2100 萬美元之間，總收入在 1.2 億至 1.26 億美元之間。然而，如前所述，總收入結果將高度依賴於 IT 服務業務的變化。

In summary, we're pleased with the fourth quarter results in the supply chain segment during these uncertain times, and expect to see further progress in the year ahead. We will remain disciplined with our investments in the short term, but continue to see large growing market opportunity for our supply chain solutions. As we head into the new fiscal year, we're pleased to see continued growth in our pipeline, which will allow us to continue increasing our recurring revenue and provide the flexibility to achieve EBITDA growth by managing costs appropriately.

總之，我們對在這些不確定時期供應鏈領域第四季度的業績感到滿意，並期望在未來一年看到進一步的進展。短期內我們將繼續嚴格投資，但我們的供應鏈解決方案將繼續看到巨大的增長市場機會。當我們進入新的財政年度時，我們很高興看到我們的管道持續增長，這將使我們能夠繼續增加經常性收入，並通過適當管理成本提供實現 EBITDA 增長的靈活性。

At this time, I'll turn the call over to Vince, who will provide details on our financial results.

此時，我會將電話轉給文斯，他將提供有關我們財務業績的詳細信息。

Thanks, Allan.

謝謝，艾倫。

For the fourth quarter of fiscal '23, total revenues were $29.9 million and that was a decrease of 14% from $34.6 million in the same period last year. Our subscription fees increased 18% year-over-year to $13 million, but it was flat on a sequential basis. And as Allan mentioned, our fourth quarter was our strongest quarter of gross subscription bookings for fiscal '23, but that was masked by a couple of unusual circumstances, including one bankruptcy and several other customers that had -- we have categorized as suspended due to delays in contract renewals and payments. Had this not occurred, our sequential year-over-year growth would have been more consistent with what we've experienced in recent quarters.

23 財年第四季度的總收入為 2990 萬美元，比去年同期的 3460 萬美元下降了 14%。我們的訂閱費同比增長 18% 至 1300 萬美元，但環比持平。正如艾倫提到的，我們的第四季度是 23 財年總訂閱預訂量最強勁的季度，但這被一些不尋常的情況所掩蓋，包括一個破產和其他幾個客戶，我們已將其歸類為暫停，因為合同續籤和付款的延遲。如果沒有發生這種情況，我們的連續同比增長將與我們最近幾個季度的經歷更加一致。

Our software license revenue was $0.7 million for the current quarter compared to $3.1 million in the prior year period, which included a special $2 million license fee deal in the existing customers.

本季度我們的軟件許可收入為 70 萬美元，而去年同期為 310 萬美元，其中包括現有客戶的 200 萬美元特殊許可費交易。

Professional services and other revenues decreased 32% to $8 million. That's compared to $11.7 million a year ago period. The year-over-year decrease reflects a 23% decrease in our supply chain management unit due to a slowdown in project activity, which we've experienced over the past few quarters and a 43% decrease in our IT consulting business unit, the Proven Method, which continues to be impacted by macroeconomic conditions.

專業服務和其他收入下降 32% 至 800 萬美元。相比之下，一年前為 1170 萬美元。同比下降反映了我們的供應鏈管理部門由於過去幾個季度的項目活動放緩而減少了 23%，以及我們的 IT 諮詢業務部門（經過驗證的項目）減少了 43%。方法，繼續受到宏觀經濟狀況的影響。

Our maintenance revenues declined 7% year-over-year to $8.2 million, reflecting a normal falloff rate this quarter. Total recurring revenues comprised of subscription and maintenance fees represented 71% of total revenues in fourth quarter, and that compares to 57% in the same period last year. Our gross margin decreased to 60% from the current year period versus 62% in the same period last year. License -- our subscription fee margin was 68% for the current year period compared to 70% in the prior year period. Excluding the noncash amortization of intangible expense of $398,000 in the fourth quarter, subscription gross margin would have been 71% versus 73% last year, which less amortization of cap software of $366,000 in the prior year period.

我們的維護收入同比下降 7% 至 820 萬美元，反映了本季度的正常下滑率。由訂閱費和維護費組成的總經常性收入佔第四季度總收入的 71%，而去年同期為 57%。我們的毛利率從本年同期下降至 60%，而去年同期為 62%。許可證——本年度我們的認購費利潤率為 68%，而去年同期為 70%。如果不包括第四季度 398,000 美元的無形費用非現金攤銷，訂閱毛利率將為 71%，而去年為 73%，減去上一年期間 366,000 美元的上限軟件攤銷。

The decline in our subscription gross margin reflected a loss of revenue associated with the client bankruptcy and suspensions discussed earlier as well as a higher short-term cost at the end of the quarter for onboarding new customers we secured in the fourth quarter. Our license fee margin was 77% compared to 84% in the same period last year, and that's primarily due to lower license fees this quarter.

我們訂閱毛利率的下降反映了與前面討論的客戶破產和暫停相關的收入損失，以及我們在第四季度獲得的新客戶在季度末增加的短期成本。我們的許可費利潤率為 77%，而去年同期為 84%，這主要是由於本季度許可費較低。

Our services margin decreased to 25% from 33% last year due to lower revenues. With stronger bookkeeping in the fourth quarter, we expect to see seasonally adjusted improvements in utilization moving forward, but we will be closely monitoring our resources to ensure we maintain optimal levels of productivity throughout the year.

由於收入下降，我們的服務利潤率從去年的 33% 下降至 25%。隨著第四季度簿記工作的加強，我們預計未來的利用率將出現季節性調整後的改善，但我們將密切監控我們的資源，以確保我們全年保持最佳的生產力水平。

Our maintenance margin was 80% for the current quarter, and that compares to 83% in the prior year period. R&D expenses were 15% of total revenues for the current period, and that's compared to 12% in the prior year period. And our sales and marketing expenses were 18% of revenues for the current quarter and that's compared to 16% in the prior year period. G&A expenses were 20% of total revenues for the current quarter, and that's compared to 18% in the same period last year.

本季度我們的維持利潤率為 80%，而去年同期為 83%。研發費用佔本期總收入的 15%，而去年同期為 12%。我們的銷售和營銷費用佔本季度收入的 18%，而去年同期為 16%。 G&A 費用佔本季度總收入的 20%，而去年同期為 18%。

So our operating income decreased 58% to $2.3 million this quarter compared to $5.5 million in the same quarter last year, primarily due to a onetime license fee transaction in last year's fourth quarter. Our net income decreased 20% to $2.9 million or earnings per diluted share of $0.08 compared to net income of $3.6 million or $0.10 per earnings -- per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, which excludes noncash amortization of intangible expense related to acquisition and stock-based compensation expense, adjusted operating income decreased 43% to $3.7 million compared to $6.6 million in the same period last year. Our adjusted EBITDA decreased 43% to $4.3 million compared to $7.5 million in the fourth quarter last year.

因此，本季度我們的營業收入下降了 58%，至 230 萬美元，而去年同期為 550 萬美元，這主要是由於去年第四季度的一次性許可費交易。我們的淨利潤下降了 20%，至 290 萬美元，或稀釋後每股收益 0.08 美元，而淨利潤為 360 萬美元，或稀釋後每股收益 0.10 美元。調整後的基礎上，不包括與收購相關的無形費用和股票補償費用的非現金攤銷，調整後的營業收入下降了 43%，至 370 萬美元，而去年同期為 660 萬美元。調整後 EBITDA 下降 43%，至 430 萬美元，而去年第四季度為 750 萬美元。

Adjusted net income increased 6% to $4.1 million adjusted for earnings per diluted share of $0.12 in the fourth quarter, and that compares to adjusted net income of $4.4 million, or adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.13 in the same period last year.

第四季度調整後淨利潤增長 6%，達到 410 萬美元，調整後每股攤薄收益為 0.12 美元，而去年同期調整後淨利潤為 440 萬美元，調整後每股攤薄收益為 0.13 美元。

Our international revenues this quarter were approximately 20% of total revenues. That compares to 16% in the same period last year. On the full year 12-month period ended April 30, 2023, total revenues decreased 3% year-over-year to $123.7 million. However, the supply chain segment grew 2%. Subscription fees increased 20% to $50.4 million, and that compares to $42.1 million last year. Our license fees were $2.8 million. Our professional services declined by 17% to $35.9 million and maintenance revenues declined 6% to $34.6 million.

本季度我們的國際收入約佔總收入的 20%。相比之下，去年同期為 16%。截至 2023 年 4 月 30 日的全年 12 個月期間，總收入同比下降 3%，至 1.237 億美元。然而，供應鏈部門增長了 2%。訂閱費增長了 20%，達到 5,040 萬美元，而去年為 4,210 萬美元。我們的許可費為 280 萬美元。我們的專業服務下降了 17%，至 3590 萬美元，維護收入下降了 6%，至 3460 萬美元。

Our adjusted operating income for the current fiscal year decreased 4% to $16.7 million, representing an operating margin of 13% compared to $17.3 million or 14% margin for the same period last year. Our adjusted EBITDA decreased 11% to $18.9 million for this year, and that compares to $21.2 million in the year ago period, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15% compared to 17% last year. Adjusted net income totaled $15.2 million or $0.45 per diluted share compared to $16 million or $0.47 per diluted share in the same period last year.

本財年調整後的營業收入下降 4%，至 1670 萬美元，營業利潤率為 13%，而去年同期為 1730 萬美元，營業利潤率為 14%。今年調整後 EBITDA 下降 11%，至 1,890 萬美元，而去年同期為 2,120 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 15%，而去年為 17%。調整後淨利潤總計 1520 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.45 美元，而去年同期為 1600 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.47 美元。

We exited the quarter with remaining performance obligation, or RPO, which we refer to as backlog of $124 million. Our total RPO was down 7% from the prior year period due to shorter contract durations from recent deals. And we note that both our short- and long-term RPO increased 3% and 5% sequentially.

我們在本季度結束時仍保留著剩餘的履約義務 (RPO)，我們將其稱為 1.24 億美元的積壓。由於最近交易的合同期限較短，我們的總 RPO 比去年同期下降了 7%。我們注意到，我們的短期和長期 RPO 分別增長了 3% 和 5%。

Looking at our balance sheet. Our financial position remains strong with cash investments of approximately $115.5 million at the end of the quarter, which increased $10.6 million sequentially. During the quarter, we paid $3.7 million in dividends. Our days sales outstanding as of the end of April 30, 2023, was 86 days for the current period and that compares to 62 days in the same period last year due to some delays in collections when compared to last year. However, that is down from 101 days in the prior sequential period, and we expect further improvements in the coming quarters. We remain confident in our ability to collect our outstanding receivables due to the high-quality nature of our customer base.

看看我們的資產負債表。我們的財務狀況依然強勁，截至本季度末現金投資約為 1.155 億美元，比上一季度增加了 1060 萬美元。本季度，我們支付了 370 萬美元的股息。截至 2023 年 4 月 30 日，本期應收賬款天數為 86 天，而去年同期為 62 天，原因是收款較去年有所延遲。然而，這比上一季度的 101 天有所下降，我們預計未來幾個季度會進一步改善。由於我們客戶群的高質量，我們對收回未清應收賬款的能力仍然充滿信心。

As Allan mentioned, we're providing guidance for fiscal '24. We anticipate revenues in the range of $120 million to $126 million, including recurring revenues of $88 million to $92 million and adjusted EBITDA we anticipate in the range of $19 million to $21 million for fiscal '24. Although our pipeline continues to grow and our close rates improved in Q4, our revenue guidance assumes that bookings remain volatile in the near term, given our ongoing economic uncertainty. To the extent our macro conditions improve, we will adjust our outlook as appropriate over the course of the year. In the interim, we will continue to prudently manage our headcount and cost structure, which we expect to remain relatively flat compared to last year.

正如艾倫提到的，我們正在為 24 財年提供指導。我們預計 24 財年的收入將在 1.2 億美元至 1.26 億美元之間，包括經常性收入 8800 萬美元至 9200 萬美元，調整後的 EBITDA 預計將在 1900 萬美元至 2100 萬美元之間。儘管我們的渠道繼續增長，並且我們的成交率在第四季度有所改善，但考慮到我們持續的經濟不確定性，我們的收入指導假設短期內預訂量仍然波動。如果我們的宏觀狀況有所改善，我們將在這一年中適當調整我們的前景。在此期間，我們將繼續審慎管理我們的員工人數和成本結構，我們預計與去年相比將保持相對平穩。

Finally, we expect to incur about $2 million in expenses this year related to our first earn-out payment for Starboard, of which approximately $0.6 million will be recognized in the first quarter. As we do not consider this a normal operating cost, the related expense will be excluded from our adjusted EBITDA guidance as we -- but the impact -- this will impact our GAAP earnings for fiscal year '24.

最後，我們預計今年將產生約 200 萬美元的與 Starboard 的第一筆收益付款相關的費用，其中約 60 萬美元將在第一季度確認。由於我們不認為這是正常的運營成本，因此相關費用將不包括在我們調整後的 EBITDA 指導中，因為我們——但影響——這將影響我們 24 財年的 GAAP 收益。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to questions.

此時，我想將通話轉為提問。

(Operator Instructions) And we'll take our first question from Matt Pfau.

（操作員說明）我們將回答 Matt Pfau 提出的第一個問題。

First wanted to ask on the clients that you categorized as suspended, some more detail on what happened there would be helpful. Why haven't these clients renewed or stop paying? Or what's going on there?

首先想詢問您歸類為暫停的客戶，有關那裡發生的情況的更多詳細信息會有所幫助。為什麼這些客戶沒有續訂或停止付款？或者那裡發生了什麼？

Matt, this is Allan. Good question. Thank you for joining us.

馬特，這是艾倫。好問題。感謝您加入我們。

There's a mix of circumstances going on around them. There's a couple of them that actually got caught up in the banking crisis, and we're just on the cusp of getting that sorted out where they've kind of got their feedback under the sails and they're up and running again. And we're in the process of putting contracts back in place, amendments back in place, and we think we can onboard them here in the first quarter.

他們周圍發生著各種各樣的情況。其中有幾個公司實際上陷入了銀行業危機，而我們正處於解決這個問題的風口浪尖，他們已經得到了反饋，並且已經重新啟動並運行。我們正在將合同放回原位，進行修訂，我們認為我們可以在第一季度將它們納入其中。

Others hit some financial distress and just really are struggling, not -- we had that one bankruptcy, one that was just flat out down and out. We may be able to recover that account if they don't go through -- end up through liquidation. But the others are just struggling financially. So we -- in some cases, have agreed to put them into formal suspension with a renewal date. And in other cases, we are actively working with them, trying to get them back and get them back on board. Hopefully get their financial position in a place that they can continue to fund and pay us for the services that are provided.

其他人遇到了一些財務困境，只是真的在苦苦掙扎，而不是——我們有過一次破產，一次徹底破產。如果他們不通過——最終通過清算，我們也許能夠恢復該賬戶。但其他人只是在經濟上陷入困境。因此，在某些情況下，我們同意將其正式暫停並確定更新日期。在其他情況下，我們正在積極與他們合作，試圖讓他們回來並讓他們重新加入。希望他們的財務狀況能夠繼續為我們提供的服務提供資金和報酬。

But we're doing the best we can with them to work and take into consideration the stress they're under and maybe be a little more flexible than in the past just to bring them back.

但我們正在盡最大努力與他們一起工作，並考慮到他們所承受的壓力，也許比過去更加靈活，只是為了讓他們回來。

Got it. And then I just wanted to understand the comments a little bit more around sales cycles and approval cycles. It seems like you saw some improvement towards the end of this last quarter, but then you also sort of called out some of the timelines, the extended timelines you're seeing there. So are you still seeing longer-than-normal sales cycles and approval cycles? Or are those improving?

知道了。然後我只是想更多地了解有關銷售週期和審批週期的評論。看起來你在上個季度末看到了一些改進，但隨後你也提出了一些時間表，你在那裡看到的延長的時間表。那麼您是否仍然看到比正常情況更長的銷售週期和審批週期？或者這些正在改善嗎？

No. Actually, that's -- thank you for that question. Good clarity point.

不，實際上，謝謝你提出這個問題。良好的清晰度點。

We saw a good closure rate in the end of fourth quarter. There were just -- these projects came to the point where they were ready to move, and we were able to work through the contracts with them and get them into place. But we did not see an acceleration of sales cycle. We saw a better closure rate and success there in the April time period. But those deals that were going down, they went through a longer sales cycle. They've been out there maturing for some time, and we worked hard to try to get them in that fiscal period and get them started before the summer season comes in and it's really a mutual benefit.

我們在第四季度末看到了良好的關閉率。這些項目已經到了可以搬遷的地步，我們能夠與他們簽訂合同並將其落實到位。但我們沒有看到銷售週期的加速。我們在四月份看到了更好的關閉率和成功。但那些正在下降的交易，它們經歷了更長的銷售週期。它們已經成熟了一段時間，我們努力讓它們在那個財政週期內啟動，並在夏季到來之前啟動，這確實是互惠互利的。

Projects slow down a little bit during the summer and they wanted to get started, and we wanted them to get started as well. So we were able to use that timing really to help us get that closure rate up. But no, we have not seen a shortening of the sales cycle yet. A lot of move afoot, as I mentioned, our brand, our approach, our -- we're recognized in the marketplace for is really value-driven projects with very good, very high ROI and we're using that more effectively now recognizing the pushback on funding to make sure when they go in and ask for the approval to seek funding approval that they are well prepared. They're well versed. They understand how to defend their position.

夏季期間項目進度有所放緩，他們想要開始，我們也希望他們開始。因此，我們能夠真正利用這個時機來幫助我們提高關閉率。但不，我們還沒有看到銷售週期的縮短。正如我提到的，我們的品牌、我們的方法、我們的品牌、我們的方法、我們的——我們在市場上得到認可，因為它們是真正價值驅動的項目，具有非常好的、非常高的投資回報率，我們正在更有效地利用這些項目，現在我們認識到資金方面的阻力，以確保他們在尋求資金批准時已做好充分準備。他們很精通。他們知道如何捍衛自己的立場。

So we're more active in that effort with them. But to date, we're not seeing the sales cycle shorten up yet.

因此，我們更加積極地與他們一起努力。但迄今為止，我們還沒有看到銷售週期縮短。

Got it. One last one for me. You mentioned that you're hoping to see an increase in conversions this next year. How -- what's driving that? How do you anticipate increasing the number of conversions that you're going to do over the next year?

知道了。最後一張給我。您提到希望明年的轉化率有所增加。是什麼推動了這一點？您預計明年將如何增加轉化次數？

Yes. We put a conservative effort into that initiative. We have a few folks working on it. We've partnered with Microsoft to get some benefits that we can share down the line with our clients to help move that forward. So we got a few incentives on the table to make that happen.

是的。我們為這一舉措付出了保守的努力。我們有幾個人正在研究它。我們與 Microsoft 合作獲得了一些好處，我們可以與客戶分享這些好處，以幫助推動這一進程。因此，我們採取了一些激勵措施來實現這一目標。

We're also just seeing a migration right now where there's an acceleration of companies realizing they should not be in the IT services business that we, as a software supplier, subscription supplier are much better served at doping so. So we're seeing a natural demand lift on their side as well as their willingness to move forward.

我們現在也看到了一種遷移，越來越多的公司意識到他們不應該從事 IT 服務業務，而我們作為軟件供應商、訂閱供應商在這方面做得更好。因此，我們看到他們的需求自然增加，並且願意繼續前進。

So it's a combination of market momentum and some good hard work from our team and a few incentives we're putting on the table with our partners to try to accelerate that process.

因此，這是市場動力、我們團隊的辛勤工作以及我們與合作夥伴一起提出的一些激勵措施的結合，以試圖加速這一進程。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our next question from Zach Cummins.

（操作員說明）我們將回答 Zach Cummins 的下一個問題。

Great. Allan, can you just talk about what sort of assumptions you're making for the recurring revenue side of the business going into this year? It still seems like a little bit of uncertainty around closing cycles. So just curious of how you're thinking about the guidance that was set and the assumptions that were made?

偉大的。艾倫，您能談談您對今年業務的經常性收入方面做出的假設嗎？關閉週期似乎仍然存在一些不確定性。那麼只是想知道您如何看待所設定的指導和所做的假設？

Yes, in particular, our greatest uncertainty is in the short term. And I think if you listen to the economics minds that are out there that probably know better than we do. We think the most pressure will be here in the shorter term, the remainder of this calendar year. I've been through enough of these cycles. This is my sixth one, Zachary, since I've been here. And what we've learned over those time periods of thrashing through those time and time again is that the supply chain market is an early indicator of a slowdown and they're also an accelerator out of a slowdown.

是的，特別是，我們最大的不確定性是在短期內。我認為，如果你聽聽外面的經濟學人士的意見，他們可能比我們更了解。我們認為，最大的壓力將出現在短期內，即今年剩餘的時間裡。我已經經歷了足夠多的這樣的循環了。扎卡里，這是我來到這里以來的第六次。我們在一次又一次的經歷中了解到，供應鏈市場是經濟放緩的早期指標，也是走出經濟放緩的加速器。

So I have a belief, we have a belief that things will stabilize and really probably just get back to normal as we get into or past the Christmas selling season this year and for us in the supply chain space. That precedes us going out shopping for our presence. They're putting that product on the shelf. Our brand owners are putting those products on the shelf in the late fall and ahead of the Thanksgiving season.

所以我有一個信念，我們相信，當我們進入或過去今年的聖誕節銷售季節以及我們的供應鏈領域時，情況將會穩定下來，並且真的很可能會恢復正常。在我們出​​去購物之前。他們正在將該產品放在貨架上。我們的品牌所有者將在深秋感恩節之前將這些產品上架。

So we feel much better about the back end of the year than we do the front end. We haven't given up on the front end. There are good active projects going on. There are many companies and a number of segments that realize that they are in an inflection point in their supply chain and recognizing the need for supply chain planning capabilities more than ever because inflection points cause uncertainty in how they should staff their inventory, hold their inventory, move their inventory, what products to get, what's going to sell. So they need all the help they can and they're moving forward on these projects.

因此，我們對今年下半年的感覺比對前端的感覺要好得多。我們還沒有放棄前端。有一些良好的活躍項目正在進行中。許多公司和許多細分市場都意識到他們正處於供應鏈的拐點，並且比以往任何時候都更加認識到對供應鏈規劃能力的需求，因為拐點導致他們如何配置庫存、持有庫存的不確定性，移動他們的庫存，獲得什麼產品，將出售什麼。因此，他們需要一切可能的幫助，並且他們正在推進這些項目。

So we're going to get business done in the next 6 months, but how fast and how quickly and the timing of it is tough. And then, of course, from a revenue standpoint, the later you get in the year, because we take that revenue monthly and report it quarterly, obviously, that impacts the year-over-year results because the later you are in the year, you don't have the accumulation effort from earlier months.

因此，我們將在未來 6 個月內完成業務，但速度、速度和時機都很難。然後，當然，從收入的角度來看，你進入的時間越晚，因為我們每月獲取該收入並每季度報告一次，顯然，這會影響同比結果，因為你進入的時間越晚，你沒有前幾個月的積累努力。

So that's why we're being pretty conservative. But we -- there's no question that there's a lot of demand. Our pipeline is still growing. There is more and more need for supply chain capabilities, and we've always seen it in the past that strong companies will come out of it even stronger by making these investments.

所以這就是為什麼我們非常保守。但毫無疑問，我們的需求很大。我們的管道仍在增長。對供應鏈能力的需求越來越大，過去我們一直看到，強大的公司會通過進行這些投資而變得更加強大。

Understood. That's helpful. And can you talk a little bit more about your strategy when it comes to supply chain professional services. It seems like there's more of a concerted effort for you to ship some more of that project work over the system integrators?

明白了。這很有幫助。您能多談談您在供應鏈專業服務方面的策略嗎？您似乎需要更多的共同努力來通過系統集成商交付更多的項目工作？

We are. And actually, we've had -- there's a couple of things that are under play there. I mentioned both of those. But yes, we're getting more engagement, more participation from the third-party integrators those SI firms and through our distribution network, our value-added resellers. We continue to build their skill sets because they provide some valuable surge assets as well as local presence.

我們是。事實上，我們已經有一些事情正在發生。我提到了這兩點。但是，是的，我們正在獲得更多的參與，來自第三方集成商、SI 公司以及通過我們的分銷網絡、我們的增值經銷商的更多參與。我們繼續培養他們的技能，因為他們提供了一些寶貴的激增資產以及本地存在。

So we want both of those parties to play a stronger role going forward. Both have a broader reach than we have independently in the marketplace, and that builds that ecosystem. But we're also seeing the impact now of our 3-year long initiative to continue to improve the efficiency of enable and the timeline that have been able to get systems up.

因此，我們希望雙方在未來發揮更強有力的作用。兩者的影響力都比我們在市場上獨立的影響力更廣泛，這構建了這個生態系統。但我們現在也看到了我們為期 3 年的計劃的影響，該計劃旨在繼續提高啟用效率和系統啟動的時間表。

That's come through practice. It's come through development efforts. It's come through just attention to detail on making sure that we work projects diligently in our prescriptive approach. Don't go in and just waiting for them to -- the client to decide what they want, we go in and tell them what's best and then we debate with them a little bit on maybe the scope for that and the approach to it.

這是通過實踐得來的。它是通過開發努力實現的。這是通過對細節的關注來確保我們按照規定的方法勤奮地開展項目而實現的。不要進去只是等待他們——客戶決定他們想要什麼，我們進去告訴他們什麼是最好的，然後我們與他們就範圍和方法進行一些辯論。

But it's just making for much more efficient projects, and that's a good thing. We're not a service company. We're not trying to be an SI firm. We're driving these projects based on client value and return on the investment they've made, and a subscription provider of planning applications is really what we want to be known for, not a services company.

但這只是讓項目變得更加高效，這是一件好事。我們不是一家服務公司。我們並不想成為一家 SI 公司。我們根據客戶價值和投資回報來推動這些項目，而我們真正希望成為一家規劃應用程序訂閱提供商，而不是一家服務公司。

Understood. And final question for me, probably geared towards Vince, but how should we be thinking about the progression of subscription gross margin as the subscription line continues to scale here in the coming fiscal year?

明白了。對我來說，最後一個問題可能是針對文斯的，但是隨著訂閱線在下一財年繼續擴大規模，我們應該如何考慮訂閱毛利率的進展？

Yes. We're anticipating -- right now, it's at 71% if you take the amortization of the (inaudible) We're anticipating kind of towards the back end of this fiscal year '24, we should be at or near 75%. And as we approach the next fiscal year, which -- towards the back end of fiscal '25, we should be close to 80%. So that's what we're targeting.

是的。我們預計——現在，如果你考慮（聽不清）的攤銷，我們預計到本財年 24 年底，它的攤銷率為 71%，我們應該達到或接近 75%。隨著我們接近下一個財年，也就是 25 財年末，我們應該接近 80%。這就是我們的目標。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our next question from Anja Soderstrom.

（操作員說明）我們將回答 Anja Soderstrom 的下一個問題。

So I just want to follow up on your commentary about the softness playing out here in the shorter term, which gives you confidence that will -- that is just a short-term softness?

因此，我只想跟進您對短期內出現的疲軟情況的評論，這讓您有信心——這只是短期的疲軟？

Yes. Anja, thanks for joining us. Yes, good question. Definitely, we're going to continue to see some volatility. It's not about whether these projects are there. It's really that approval cycle that's out there. We've got active campaigns going well into the cycle. There's a lot of potential for our Q1, a lot of potential for our Q2. And then, of course, we're into the new budget season for the new fiscal year, people are spending money at the wrap-up of the calendar year and new money at the kickoff of the new calendar year.

是的。安雅，感謝您加入我們。是的，好問題。當然，我們將繼續看到一些波動。問題不在於這些項目是否存在。這確實是一個審批週期。我們的積極活動正在順利進入周期。我們的第一季度有很大的潛力，第二季度也有很大的潛力。然後，當然，我們進入了新財政年度的新預算季節，人們在日曆年結束時花錢，在新日曆年開始時花錢。

So we got a couple of selling cycles that will help us here. But it seems like we get some good news. And then all of a sudden, we get some troubling news and people take a big deep breath and pause for a moment. So we're doing our best to accelerate those to not allow those delays to give them confidence to move forward and seek approvals, but there's limited impact we can have on getting that done. So we're doing the best we can.

因此，我們有幾個銷售週期對我們有幫助。但我們似乎得到了一些好消息。然後突然間，我們得到了一些令人不安的消息，人們深吸一口氣並暫停了片刻。因此，我們正在盡最大努力加快進程，以免出現延誤，從而讓他們有信心繼續前進並尋求批准，但我們對完成這項工作所能產生的影響有限。所以我們正在盡力而為。

So we'll see some volatility in the remainder of this year. We'll see some ups and downs, but overall, those ups and downs will be mixed in with the trend of growth. We're confident of that.

因此，我們將在今年剩餘時間內看到一些波動。我們會看到一些起伏，但總體而言，這些起伏將與增長趨勢混合在一起。我們對此充滿信心。

Okay. And in terms of M&A, what do you see there in terms of the environment and valuations? And what are you looking for specifically in terms of acquiring something?

好的。在併購方面，您認為那裡的環境和估值如何？在獲得某些東西方面，您具體尋找什麼？

Yes. Let's -- we'll talk about our -- what we're seeking for. We're going to stick to our knitting. We want applications that are complementary to what we have today in the supply chain planning space. Our strategy on that is driven by the fact that we have an installed base that knows us for supply chain planning to the extent that we can provide new and expansive opportunities for those clients we sell back in. We're looking for things that would allow us to incent people to do this lift in shift we were talking about. That would be helpful to find one of those in the mix.

是的。讓我們——我們將談論我們——我們正在尋找的東西。我們要堅持我們的編織。我們希望應用程序能夠與我們目前在供應鏈規劃領域的應用程序相補充。我們的戰略是由這樣一個事實驅動的：我們擁有一個了解我們供應鏈規劃的安裝基礎，以至於我們可以為我們回售的客戶提供新的、廣泛的機會。我們正在尋找能夠允許的東西我們鼓勵人們輪班做我們正在談論的這種工作。這將有助於在其中找到其中之一。

We want technology synergies. We want proven capabilities in the marketplace so that we can put them right to work. We don't want to have to go be the test pad for new ideas. We want to be -- we want to find proven opportunities that have some revenue proof points behind them. So they've got subscription revenue going.

我們需要技術協同效應。我們希望擁有經過市場驗證的功能，以便我們能夠將它們投入使用。我們不想成為新想法的試驗台。我們希望——我們希望找到經過驗證的機會，這些機會背後有一些收入證明點。所以他們有訂閱收入。

So we've got a number of things in the works. We're very active in the dialogue. We anticipate that while we're all contemplating our summer breaks here and long before kids go back to school, if you have them, that we'll have tucked in at least one of these potential opportunities that lie ahead, and we're not going to pause there. We're going to keep going.

所以我們有很多事情正在進行中。我們在對話中非常積極。我們預計，雖然我們都在考慮在這裡放暑假，但在孩子們重返學校之前很久，如果有的話，我們至少會抓住未來這些潛在機會中的一個，而我們並沒有將在那裡暫停。我們將繼續前進。

We, intentionally with the Starboard acquisition we did last summer, we put a conscious thought process into using that as a template for acquisitions and ingestion and how we would manage those acquisitions. So that one went so well and our template worked well, and we learned a little bit from it that we've modified now that we have no reason to pause even if we pull in one, assumes we can find the second one, if it's a month later or 2 months later or 3 months later, we'll pull the trigger on that as well. We know we can do acquisitions in parallel right now. So we're very comfortable for that. So we're or a full court press.

我們有意在去年夏天進行的 Starboard 收購中，進行了有意識的思考過程，將其用作收購和吸收以及我們如何管理這些收購的模板。因此，其中一個進展順利，我們的模板運行良好，我們從中學到了一點，我們現在已經修改了，即使我們拉入一個，我們也沒有理由暫停，假設我們可以找到第二個，如果它是一個月後、兩個月後、三個月後，我們也會扣動扳機。我們知道我們現在可以並行進行收購。所以我們對此感到非常放心。所以我們是全場緊逼。

Relative to valuations, much better than they were a year ago, much better than they were 2 years ago. The other thing that's very interesting is, as we all know, the financial markets are pretty tight. So if companies are in growth mode, even though if they're not profitable, in particular, if they're not completely profitable right now, and there's always synergies for an acquisition, their ability to go to a bank and get funding right now is closed off. That's not possible.

相對估值而言，比一年前好得多，比兩年前好得多。另一件非常有趣的事情是，眾所周知，金融市場非常緊張。因此，如果公司處於增長模式，即使他們沒有盈利，特別是如果他們現在沒有完全盈利，並且收購總是存在協同效應，他們現在就有能力去銀行獲得資金已關閉。那是不可能的。

So they're facing some sort of transaction, and we are a comfortable place to go. Our strategy on acquisitions is that we buy the technology, but equally important is we bring the people in. We want them to be part of the long term. We did that with the Starboard acquisition, all of those folks are still here. We did it with all our prior acquisitions, and those folks are predominantly still here and even some of them that were 10 years ago. So we have a home for them. We can let them fulfill their vision, still see their product and their strategy they put together play out. Only we give them comfort. We give them the strength of a very viable company, and we give the momentum and more presence than they have at their current operations. So we're a safe home when they have to go do a transaction or safe and comfortable home that they can still fulfill their vision. So we believe that gives us a bit of an advantage in this still relatively competitive market out there. So we're finding pretty good stuff.

所以他們面臨著某種交易，而我們是一個舒適的去處。我們的收購策略是購買技術，但同樣重要的是我們引進人才。我們希望他們成為長期發展的一部分。我們通過收購 Starboard 做到了這一點，所有這些人都還在這裡。我們之前收購的所有員工都做到了這一點，這些人大部分都還在這裡，甚至有一些是 10 年前的了。所以我們為他們提供了一個家。我們可以讓他們實現他們的願景，同時看到他們的產品和他們制定的戰略發揮作用。只有我們給他們安慰。我們為他們提供了一家非常有生存能力的公司的實力，我們為他們提供了比他們目前運營中更多的動力和影響力。因此，當他們必須去進行交易時，我們是一個安全的家，或者是一個安全舒適的家，他們仍然可以實現他們的願景。因此，我們相信這給我們在這個競爭仍然相對激烈的市場中帶來了一些優勢。所以我們正在尋找非常好的東西。

So thank you for giving me a platform for getting a few of those points in, Anja.

所以，謝謝你給我一個平台，讓我了解其中的一些觀點，Anja。

Our next question comes from Matthew Galinko.

我們的下一個問題來自馬修·加林科。

Can you talk about how the pricing environment in effect is changing given some of the elongation of the sales cycle you mentioned, I think, for quest for justifying ROI from the deal. So is there any -- how much pushback are you seeing on price? Does that result in more competition or more competitive bidding on projects? Just what are you seeing?

您能否談談考慮到您提到的銷售週期的延長，定價環境實際上是如何變化的，我認為是為了尋求證明交易投資回報率的合理性。那麼，您認為價格方面有多大的阻力嗎？這是否會導致項目競爭更加激烈或競標更加激烈？你到底看到了什麼？

Pricing hasn't changed much. It's pretty much the same landscape. I think we're -- we've all -- this is a mature market, even though there's new technologies out there, it's a mature market. The value proposition challenge -- so really no change there.

定價沒有太大變化。幾乎是同樣的風景。我認為我們——我們都——這是一個成熟的市場，即使有新技術，它也是一個成熟的市場。價值主張的挑戰——所以實際上沒有改變。

Our average discounts have been unchanged for several years now. And we always get pressure. So as soon as you get to the procurement department, you're the highest bidder and you're the worst bunch of folks that are out there and we're trying to fleet some, but that's the job of the procurement department. So we get pretty comfortable and have a good chuckle about that every time we hear it.

我們的平均折扣多年來一直沒有變化。我們總是受到壓力。因此，一旦你到達採購部門，你就是出價最高的人，也是最差的一群人，我們正在嘗試運送一些人，但這就是採購部門的工作。所以每次我們聽到這個消息時，我們都會感到很舒服並且會咯咯地笑。

But the pushback, Matt -- good question. The pushback that is coming in isn't so much that the price is too high. And even the teams know they need to go in with a justification, but they don't have a solid backing behind it. They don't have the confidence and the backbone to show why they're going to get the return on investment and what's the assurance behind getting that return on investment. And is the organization ready to make the investment of people and resources and can they really pivot? And will the user community adopt it? Those are the kind of pushback the financial folks, the executives that are making the approvals on these projects.

但是，馬特，這是一個很好的問題。出現的阻力並不是價格太高。即使團隊知道他們需要有理由參與，但他們背後沒有堅實的支持。他們沒有信心和勇氣來展示為什麼他們將獲得投資回報，以及獲得投資回報背後的保證是什麼。組織是否準備好進行人員和資源投資？它們能否真正實現轉型？用戶社區會採用它嗎？這些都是財務人員和批准這些項目的高管的阻力。

Once, the confidence that the return will actually come and so it's probably more of a debate about the confidence and risk of getting a return than it is about whether there's a number on the table that justifies the funding that they're going to have because they always -- they know they need to have a multiple of return on investment, but it's that confidence factor.

一旦，對回報確實會到來的信心，因此可能更多的是關於獲得回報的信心和風險的爭論，而不是關於是否有一個數字證明他們將獲得的資金是合理的，因為他們總是——他們知道他們需要獲得數倍的投資回報，但這就是信心因素。

So hopefully that adds a little more insight to the kind of pushback and the challenge -- when times get tight, they push on every lever. Do we have the people? Is there data ready? Are you sure we're going to get that return? Is our user community going to be able to adopt it? So they're looking for any inkling that maybe I can just keep that money in my pocket instead of putting it out there on the table on this project right now.

因此，希望這能讓我們對這種阻力和挑戰有更多的了解——當時間緊迫時，他們會竭盡全力。我們有人民嗎？資料準備好了嗎？你確定我們會得到回報嗎？我們的用戶社區能夠採用它嗎？所以他們正在尋找任何線索，也許我可以把這筆錢留在我的口袋裡，而不是現在把它放在這個項目的桌子上。

Does that help, Matthew?

這有幫助嗎，馬修？

It does.

確實如此。

(Operator Instructions) It appears we have no further questions.

（操作員說明）看來我們沒有其他問題了。

Okay. Well, thank you very much. Thank you, everyone, for joining us this afternoon. We certainly appreciate the time joining us late in the day. And we encourage you to have a good evening, and we'll talk to you again soon.

好的。好的，謝謝。謝謝大家今天下午加入我們。我們當然很感謝您在當天晚些時候加入我們。我們鼓勵您度過一個愉快的夜晚，我們很快就會再次與您交談。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation, and you may disconnect at any time.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與，您可以隨時斷開連接。