An effective supply chain is one which can be easily monitored and the reports reacted upon in a timely fashion. SCMS or supply chain management software is designed to manage the processes and relationships in the supply chain.
The software will typically manage every aspect of the individual supply chains from supplier sourcing to customer processing and everything in between. Supply chain software providers like SAP and Syspro are leaders in the field of software design and with an increasing global supply chain affecting every corner of the globe, your software provider needs to be well exposed around the world.
Each market and product or service type requires a set of management and monitoring tools that allow the supply chain manager to get a snapshot of the processes that are affecting the smooth running of the supply chain and only well built supply chain software that every level of the supply chain communicates with, will yield the results that allow the company to meet it’s goals.
Before deciding on a supply chain software solution, talk to the critical suppliers in your supply chain to establish the software they are using. It is not essential that you use the same software provider, but it is essential that the two supply chain databases are able to work together.
Forecasting
An essential element of your SCMS installation is the forecasting function. This allows the SCM to quickly determine the part of the supply chain that is causing a problem and to react on the information before there is a problem.
SCM forecasting in the very short term is arguably as important as the longer term forecasting for seasonal adjustments. Selecting a SCMS partner is critical, consult with the larger SCMS partners like SAP or Syspro first.