• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Enterprise-class Supply Chain Capabilities Reach the Mid-market

Enterprise-class Supply Chain Capabilities Reach the Mid-market

February 6, 2008
From Technology Evaluation/Wayne Thompson, Director of Research & Christina Park

Today's midsize distributors have the opportunity to leverage their existing IT infrastructures in ways that were impossible a few years ago. By layering advanced, affordable supply chain management (SCM) and electronic data interchange (EDI) functionality on top of their existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, midsize distributors can profit from improved productivity and lower labor costs.
Supply Chain Challenges for the Mid-market: Forklifts are for moving inventory, not for taking out existing systems. In the past, midsize distributors had various advantages that helped them compete against larger competitors. They were able to adjust business practices on the fly, personalize service for customers, and tailor their product offerings--all because they had fewer locations, flat organization charts, and manageable order sizes.
However, meeting the mandates of an increasingly complex and global supply chain is a baseline of doing business no matter what the organization's size. Small and medium companies (those with annual revenues of $250 million (USD) and below) must now look to other differentiators and process improvements to stay ahead of encroaching competitors and to retain their customers. Mid-market companies face the same issues as large companies, but they do not have the same resources to implement costly, high-end, integrated suites to answer the advance of large distributors on their territory. To survive, mid-market organizations should look for solutions that leverage their existing investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) infrastructures, and augment those capabilities with enterprise-class functionality that integrates the back office to the warehouse.
ERP has matured for mid-market companies. Size, cost, complexity, and necessary manpower were once prohibitive, and mid-sized companies carved out their markets without the help of mammoth ERP applications. As with most technologies, time, adoption curve, and critical mass have dramatically cut the cost and increased the value of ERP solutions. These solutions are now better, cheaper, less complex, and more feature-rich than ever before. Big companies were the unwitting trailblazers in proving the technologies and improving capabilities while helping drive down the cost. Now, mid-market companies can take advantage of the investments and lessons learned of their larger competitors--by leveraging integrated electronic data interchange (EDI) and advanced supply chain execution capabilities alongside an existing ERP system, organizations can realize the benefits of an enterprise-class supply chain platform to meet the needs of both complex and simple supply chains.
A Warehouse Management System (WMS) Delivers the Dream of Fast, Accurate Fulfillment and Inventory Tracking: Fulfillment is the cornerstone of customer retention and growth. Having the, stock in the right quantity, at the right time has a significant impact on the bottom line. Inventory, once a mid-market company's biggest question, is no longer an unknown. Typically, it has been difficult for a midsized organization to have a precise view of inventory targets across all their products. Not having automated processes and real-time inventory updates meant not knowing inventory levels. In order to grow, mid-market companies must be able to handle more fulfillment volume, address customer-specific needs, and leverage solutions that provide intermodal visibility and control.
While small and midsized firms do not have the volume issues that larger distributors face, mid-market companies trying to expand should still seek more advanced fulfillment capabilities to help take them to the next level of growth, whether locally or globally. Global expansion adds new dimensions and complexity to a midsized business. As an increasing amount of inventory is imported globally, whether raw materials or finished goods, keeping track of that inventory becomes even more onerous and cumbersome. In addition, growth requires overcoming additional challenges, such as balancing a modest level of human resources without having to incur significant investments in additional capital assets. Read more...
http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com

    RELATED CONTENT

    RELATED VIDEOS

    Warehouse Management Systems
    KEYWORDS Warehouse Management Systems
    • Related Directories

      SnapFulfil

      Tecsys, Inc.

    From Technology Evaluation/Wayne Thompson, Director of Research & Christina Park

    More from this author

    Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

    Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

    Popular Stories

    • A TOY TRUCK CARRIES A GIANT BOX WITH A RED RIBBON IN A BOW

      Three Trends to Watch During Peak Season 2023

      Apparel
    • On Demand Webinar_SAP.png

      Optimize your Logistics Pinch Points to Build a Risk Resilient & Sustainable Supply Chain

      Webinars
    • A GIANT CONTAINER VESSEL SPORTING THE LETTERING OF YANG MING PLIES THE SEAS

      Yang Ming Accused of Profiteering During Pandemic by Bed Bath & Beyond

      Ocean Transportation
    • WORKERS STAND AT PICKING STATIONS IN A BUSY WAREHOUSE FULL OF PLASTIC BINS AND PACKAGES

      Amazon to Hire 250,000 Logistics Workers for Holidays, Boost Hourly Wages

      Global Trade & Economics
    • A TRUCK DRIVER IN THE CAB OF A TRUCK HOLDS HIS FACE IN HIS HANDSg

      Strangling the Flow: The Impacts of Overbearing Regulations on California’s Logistics Sector

      Last Mile Delivery

    Digital Edition

    Scb august 2023 lg

    2023 100 Great Supply Chain Partners

    VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

    Case Studies

    • JLL Finds Perfect Warehouse Location, Leading to $15M Grant for Startup

    • Robots Speed Fulfillment to Help Apparel Company Scale for Growth

    • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

    • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

    • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

    Visit Our Sponsors

    Antuit Zebra Anvyl AutoStore
    BEUMER Group Blue Ridge Global Brother
    CHEP Cleo Coenterprise
    Data Capture E2open Enveyo
    Eva Air ForwardX Robotics Frayt
    GAINSystems Generix Geodis
    GEP Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit GreyOrange
    Here Holman Logistics Infor
    Inmar Kinaxis Lexis Nexis
    Locus Robotics Logility LogistiVIEW
    Lucas Systems MCA Connect MPO
    Old Dominion OneRail Overhaul
    PartnerLinQ (Visionet) Port of Virginia Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash
    Saddle Creek Logistics SAP Shyft
    Sourcemap SPS Commerce Tecsys
    TGW Systems Thomson Reuters Veho
    Verusen Walmart Workshop
    • More From SCB
      • Featured Content
      • Video Library
      • Think Tank Blog
      • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
      • Whitepapers
      • On-Demand Webinars
      • Upcoming Webinars
    • Digital Offerings
      • Digital Issue
      • Subscribe
      • Manage Your Subscription
      • Newsletters
    • Resources
      • Events Calendar
      • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
      • Supplier Directory
      • Case Study Showcase
      • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
      • 100 Great Partners Form
    • SCB Corporate
      • Advertise on SCB.COM
      • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact Us
      • Data Sharing Opt-Out

    All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

    Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing