Author – John Manlove, Chief Executive Officer – Apex Trading
The rise of AI is fueling internal debates on teams that have long relied on Software as a Service (SaaS) providers for things like CRM, loyalty, data intelligence, and inventory management to run their business.
Now, many companies feel empowered by AI to consider building their own in-house solutions, and there is a legit case for it. In-house software can solve unique business challenges in ways their current SaaS providers may not. You get full control of the roadmap and can build exactly the interface you want. With AI, you no longer need an engineer or deep technical expertise to vibe code something that feels like it will handle today’s needs and keep handling tomorrow’s. Exciting as that is, and as strong as the immediate impact feels, there’s more to account for before heading down that path.
Time and money
AI may build it faster than ever, but you still have to reckon with the fully burdened cost of an in-house solution.
I recently met with a large national brand that spent over $60,000 in AI credits and six months building a good-looking, functional CRM for their team. Once they totaled the full cost, they were north of $100,000 for a product they can’t commercialize outside their own business.
So the question is: will that $100,000 upfront investment pay off? And that’s before any ongoing maintenance. A SaaS provider charging around $500 a month, or $6,000 a year, could most likely have delivered the same thing; I know we would have.
What the real decision maker here should boil down to is: is the current pricing model I pay for my SaaS fair? What we are typically seeing is that per-seat models are under the most scrutiny.
IP ownership, personnel, and security
If you’re paying an employee who then vibe codes an in-house solution, who owns the IP? If that employee leaves, who is left in the organization who can maintain the system? And does your in-house build have the security to hold up against hacking, data leakage, and the other threats out there today?
AI governance and hallucinations are also considerations. Without an engineering team that specializes in monitoring, preventing, and remedying AI when it goes rogue, you’re setting yourself up for potentially catastrophic consequences.
The ongoing cost of innovation
When you pay for a SaaS product, it typically keeps launching new features, tools, and integrations at no additional cost to you, or at a cost far below what building the same thing in-house would run. At Apex, we’ve launched over 150 enhancements to new and existing features this year alone, none of which cost our clients anything additional. In-house, the opposite is true. Every single minute spent on the product carries a fully burdened cost to the business.
The lost value of the network effect
This one is specific to the side of the market we serve: wholesale. When a wholesale brand decides to leave a platform like Apex for their own in-house solution, they take on everything above, and they also give up the network effect Apex provides. Instead of being where buyers can easily shop for every brand and product they carry, you’re asking those buyers to go somewhere else. Somewhere with a completely different interface and a different ordering process. That’s more time and more work on their end to place orders.
On a platform like Apex Trading, every brand and buyer that joins brings value to everyone else in the overall environment. The value Apex delivers grows a little every day as the network grows, and it disappears the moment you step outside the ecosystem.
Want to learn more about how Apex Trading can elevate your business and put the whole in wholesale? Request a demo below.