Caterpillar is the world’s leading maker of earth-moving machinery and supplier of agricultural equipment. The software for its Dealer Business System

(DBS), which it licenses to its dealers to help them run their businesses, is becoming outdated. Senior management wants its dealers to use a hosted version of the software supported by Accenture consultants so Caterpillar can concentrate on its core business. The system had become a de facto standard for doing business with the company. The majority of the Cat dealers in North America use some version of DBS, as do about half of the Cat dealers in the rest of the world. Before Caterpillar turns the product over to Accenture, what factors and issues should it consider? What questions should it ask? What questions should its dealers ask?