When it comes to digitizing supply chain planning, it's a different world from just a couple of years ago, says Philip Vervloesem, chief commercial officer of OMP.

Compared with just two or three years ago, top organizations are demanding fast “time to value” in the push for digital transformation in supply chain planning, Vervloesem says. Executives can’t wait for months or years to see the return on investment from automated systems and begin working with digitized information. In some cases, that means targeting “six to eight weeks for the first value drop.”

Companies looking to digitize planning need to be able to evaluate and continue improvements, with demonstrated ROI in inventory management, improved service levels, and sustainability. That last category remains important, Vervloesem says, but it needs to be balanced with considerations of “cost, cash and customer.” And going forward, planners must ensure that their digitized processes continue to drive value and are “maximized over time.”

In striving for more rapid ROI, planning organizations are increasing the focus on running quick pilots, with an emphasis on the development of core platforms that can be complemented by “spot solutions.”

That requires the ability to integrate multiple disparate systems. Vervloesem says it’s happening now, with crucial data touchpoints “getting more intensified and real-time. You can’t wait a week to respond to disruption.”

Adoption of digital technologies varies by industry. The consumer goods sector is the most advanced in driving innovation, but it’s also the most segmented when it comes to actual deployment, Vervloesem says. Chemicals are “well integrated, but a little behind in the willingness to integrate.” And metals are in a “wait-and-see” mode, as they struggle to determine the impact of tariffs on their operations.