Supply-chain-management software
Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications.
The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...
(SCMS) is the software tools or modules used in executing supply chain transactions, managing supplier relationships and controlling associated
business process
A business process, business method, or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks performed by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product (that serves a particular business g ...
es. Supply chain management maximizes the efficiency of business activities that include planning and management of the entire supply chain. It helps businesses in product development, sourcing,
production, and
logistics
Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
by automating operations. In this way, it increases the physical flow of business as well as informative flow. The entire business benefits with higher performance, greater cost-efficiency, and thus increased
supply chain
A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...
efficiency.
While functionality in such systems is broad, it commonly includes:
# Customer-requirement processing
# Purchase-order processing
# Sales and distribution
#
Inventory management
# Goods receipt and
warehouse management
# Supplier management/sourcing
A requirement of many SCMS often includes
forecasting
Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared with what actually happens. For example, a company might Estimation, estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the ...
. Such tools often attempt to balance the disparity between supply and demand by improving business processes and using algorithms and consumption analysis to better plan future needs. SCMS also often includes integration technology that allows organizations to trade electronically with supply chain partners.
Shift to SaaS
SCMS adoption is growing faster than the broader
enterprise application software market. The annual revenue from SCMS (on-premises and
SaaS) reached $10 billion in 2014, a 12 percent increase over 2013.
While premises-based software was still more widely used than SaaS solutions for SCMS in 2014,
Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is an American research and advisory firm focusing on business and technology topics. Gartner provides its products and services through research reports, conferences, and consulting. Its clients include large corporations, gover ...
projects that about two-thirds of the growth in SCMS adoption between 2015 and 2018 will be based on the SaaS subscription model: driven by a growing realization of the benefits of cloud-based services, the SaaS-based SCMS market grew by about 24 percent in 2014 and is projected to continue to grow at a 19 percent compound annual growth rate (
CAGR), reaching $4.4 billion in annual sales by 2018.
[{{Cite web, title = Forecast: Public Cloud Services, Worldwide, 2012-2018, 2Q14 Update, url = https://www.gartner.com/doc/2780417/forecast-public-cloud-services-worldwide, website = www.gartner.com, accessdate = 2015-12-06]
References
Supply chain management