In the 1990s, ERP emerged as a way to unify systems within an enterprise, replacing and/or augmenting fragmented legacy and departmental systems. More recently, with more and more being done outside the four walls of the enterprise and so many more players involved, we see the growth of platforms that sit on the network between companies, designed to enable rapid integration and coordination between multiple enterprises in a supply chain. These Network/Community Platforms (which may or may not be SaaS-based) help to coordinate and communicate, providing a single version of the truth among all the players.

Network/Community Platforms can be procurement-centric, or focused on transportation/supply chain, or hybrids, which focus on financial and supply chain visibility.

Network/Community Platforms for supply chain tracking are particularly relevant in dealing with the evolving financial supply chain, where we are seeing a shift from letters of credit to open account.

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