For many, the argument has been that codifying processes makes them rigid. This may certainly be true, but some process gaps are very costly, and in the fields of finance or import/export, they may be illegal. For example, a customer cancels an order with you, but you don't cancel the order to the supplier.

As the level of connection points, trading partners, channels and compliance and regulations increases, companies have more "digital to-dos." Also, the increased focus on risk management brings up uncomfortable questions: Who is responsible for this process? Do we have it documented? Do we have the correct up-to-date data, contacts, etc., associated with the management of this process?

To a great degree, applications solutions providers have the business process management tools within their applications. But what happens when we have multiple integration points, within or beyond the enterprise, that are not covered by the application?

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Keywords: supply chain management IT, supply chain solutions, supply chain planning, BPM solutions, managing external business processes