Quick market overview – In todays business environment the monolithic ERP software is stagnant and corporations have already made their investments in such systems. Today’s downturned economy means business must watch their spending and be cognizant of where they invest for growth. Organizations are finding that some ERP suites that they have invested in do not the capabilities they now require.
This economy has caused companies to reexamine how they spend on technology by looking for ROI and reduced risk and most importantly if you choose the right software to solve your original business problem. Specific problems that companies continue to face such as inventory control, warehouse management and transportation management to name a few operations are still very high level in current systems and do not achieve the level of granularity that is required by these organizations to fully have visibility of their current operations.
Newer technologies, advancement in software interoperability and cloud computing have put organizations at an advantage to utilize full solutions that can easily interface with their current systems. This integration makes it easier to implement a software that has a specific function with significant detail to fully access the problems that for example, poor demand planning and forecasting or lack of transportation visibility can cause.
These solutions are being investigated as additions as organizations have realized that their current system just has not the level of detail they require. Also new business methodologies can influence the way your software works and may not be able to keep up with your business. New ideas such as flowcasting have not really penetrated the mainstream and now can be very valuable to organizations looking to control inventory spending and forecasting.
Specific problems that organizations face can be solved by individual components rather than an all in one suite. If a company is looking to reduce their carrier expenses chances are they will evaluate a Transport management system only, rather than a more encompassing global trade management solution unless they are looking for management of inventory, global trade compliance and inventory visibility.
The availability of cloud computing makes pointed applications easier to implement into your current systems for usually less cost and frustration of a major in-house implementation. These can easily be integrated due to existing API’s that most companies offer. This can enhance functionality and quickly add the flexibility required to change with your business model. By keeping the older systems still allows operation for most of your customers. By adding the specific functionality you require through a cloud solution can quickly respond to your needs and control cost.
Tags: business, business methodologies, cloud, demand planning, flowcasting, growth organizations, inventory, level, management, organizations face, pointed solutions, ROI, software, software interoperability
