Get more BANG for your IT buck [Page 7]

-- Logistics Management, 4/1/2006

Page 7 of 7 -- Is there a single trend that will change the way shippers buy and utilize supply chain and logistics software/technology over the next five years?

Greg Aimi: Two trends will change the way technology is purchased in the logistics and distribution space over the next five years: SOA for WMS and on-demand for transportation.

John Fontanella: The biggest change I see will be in applications themselves. Modules today that are tightly bound to the rest of the software package will be broken off into services that exist on their own. Users will take different services, regardless of vendor, and assemble them together to make new, composite applications.

Mike Witty: Shippers need to remember that the trend toward demand-driven supply networks considerably blurs the boundary of traditional planning and execution processes. Supply chain strategists need to consider investing in technology that supports more dynamic postponement or front-end replenishment processes to provide the ability to merge near real-time planning and execution capabilities.

Adrian Gonzalez: I would say it’s the merging of technology with managed services.ARC first identified the merging of outsourced transportation technology with managed services back in 2002, and software vendors are already moving in this direction. The transition from implementing a TMS in-house to accessing it via an on-demand service is well underway.

2006 Technology Roundtable Goes Live

On April 28, our 2006 Technology Roundtable goes live in an interactive webcast that gives you the opportunity to ask questions directly of our panelists. Bring your questions concerning SOA, TMS, WMS, ERP, and RFID, and the panel will do its best to make sure you're getting the biggest bang for your IT buck. Click here for more information.

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7