Top 20 SCM Vendors

The leaders in 2008 look much the same as in 2007. Once again, No. 1 SAP with $942 million and No. 2 Oracle with $715 million top the list. In a tough year, both posted significant percentage gains, with SAP up nearly 12% and Oracle growing by nearly 9%. JDA Software with $390 million, Manhattan Associates with $337 million and RedPrairie with $293 million rounded out the top five.

The TMS market was essentially flat, coming in at $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2007, according to Adrian Gonzalez, director of the logistics executive council for ARC Research (781-471-1000, www.arcweb.com). The high price of fuel continues to be the most important factor driving the TMS market, according to Gonzalez. "Record oil prices through the first nine months of 2008 helped the market post an overall respectable number for the year."
The WMS market, meanwhile, was also flat, at $1.2 billion, according to Steve Banker, ARC's service director of supply chain management. The most important development in the market may be that big players like RedPrairie, Manhattan Associates and HighJump continue to take market share from the small to mid-sized providers. As Banker looks at the market, he sees as many as 20 small players that are on life support and may not survive in the current economy.

The most significant trend may be the emergence of new models, like on-demand, software-as-a-service, and by-the-transaction subscription models, for delivering and pricing supply chain management solutions. In the TMS market, for instance, the hosted model already represents about one third of the implementations, according to Gonzalez. While it has been slow to expand to the other applications, vendors are experimenting with new models. One idea that is emerging would deliver and price software services based on the number of transactions similar to the way a 3PL charges for order fulfillment services. Both Banker and Jacobson have had conversations with WMS and MES providers that are talking about this concept. Whether it will catch on or not is too early to tell.
"The on-demand market is about 1% of the WMS market," says Banker. "But vendors are looking at ways to reduce the upfront cost of implementing a solution."

Asia Pacific is about 8-12% of the global market and I predict significant change in the make-up of the SCM vendors in Asia Pac in 2009-2011.

The Asia Pacific market for WMS is still over $100M ..

More to follow..

Retailer Transforms Supply Chain With RFID

In a move to RFID-enable its complete supply chain, apparel retailer Charles Vogele has implemented a Merchandise Visibility system that will cover point-of-manufacture to point-of-sale, using standard EPC Gen 2 labels. The system, the first standards-based system to RFID-enable a retailer's entire supply chain, will assist retailers in streamlining their supply chains by applying smart tags to apparel merchandise at point-of-manufacture, and reading the tags in all parts of the logistics operations, including in the store. Retailers will be able to improve operations and increase shelf availability at the store by tracking item-level merchandise throughout the facility. Thomas Beckmann, vice president of supply chain operations at Charles Vogele, notes the firm's "logistical challenge" of dealing with approximately 70 million garments sourced annually from more than 400 suppliers and distributed to 34 consolidation hubs throughout Asia and Europe. "Our adoption of RFID has transformed and improved our operations from source to store," Beckmann says. The Merchandise Visibility system was supplied by Checkpoint Systems.Web Link

Fresh software KPI, Gauges,Reports, Events & Cheap

Fresh software services Pty Ltd is a software company providing KPInsight - Analysis, Visibility, and Alerts.

Probably the most important KPI tool you’ll ever own.

And it’s free!

Yes that's right .. no upfront license fees Wow !

want to learn more then contact me today.

Australian National Retail Forum - Melb August 11-13

The National Retail Forum is Australia's leading annual conference event for retail professionals, designed to help you gain insight ideas and experience from leading Australian and international retailers, industry specialists and consultants to empower you to improve your business performance.

Register now to see speakers including Ruby Anik (Senior VP Brand Marketing, JC Penney), Bernie Brookes (Chief Executive Officer, MYER), Alan Oster (Chief Economist, National Australia Bank) and Warren Wilmot (Chief Executive Officer, 7 Eleven Stores Australia).The National Retail Forum provides a unique opportunity for retailers to focus on the future, share experiences and embrace opportunities to evolve and adapt to a changing market.

Delegates also receive free entry to Retail Expo Australasia 2009, which runs alongside the National Retail Forum at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Come and experience ‘Retail 2020: Store of the Future', an exciting new technology feature that will be launched at this event.

See you there ..

Latest Trends in SCM Technology

I attended the SMART conference in Darling harbour this week. Attendance was down by 2/3rd's on the previous event 2 years ago but i feel the quality was up in terms of attendee's, solutions and technology on show.

A few trends of note :

- Low cost visiblity solutions for tier 2 and 3 companies now available

- good mobile solutions for truck and container tracking

- New ( to me at least) fatigue solutions for drivers

- Green Supply chain focus is on the increase

- All the usual IT SCM vendors there with great products.

- A few notiable companies missing

- Rapid build ERP solutions

and more

Top 10 Business and Technology Challenges

An interesting report from Gartner on the Top 10 business and Technology challenges for CIO's.

How does this compare to your companies needs ?

Retail Technology Subject Topics

If you're interested in any of these retail technology topics and would like to know more then contact me :)

Assisted Selling , Branding , Convenience Stores ,Customer Psychology , Customer Service , Digital Signage , In-Store Media , Loyalty Programs, Merchandising , POS , RFID , Self-service , Store Layout and Design , Supermarkets/Grocery Analytics and Measurement , Department Stores , Display Technology , Interactive Displays Kiosks, Marketing Point-of-purchase ,Psychology, Retail - Apparel , Retail - Electronics, Retail - Online Retail - Specialty, Self-Checkout , Signage Technology, Vending, Digital Signage , Measurement & Analysis , Digital Merchandising, Customer Experience ,Content Design & Aesthetics , Retail - Digital Signage,

The Smart Supply Chain Technology Show

The Smart Supply Chain Technology Show (SSCT) is the biennial exhibition for supply chain and logistics professionals to find out what’s new in supply chain products and services, network with colleagues, clients and business partners and build new business relationships. The theme for 2009, “Meeting the Challenge – Logistics Innovation for Operational Efficiency”, recognises the opportunities and demands presented by the current business environment, and identifies innovation as a key to meeting these challenges.

I hope to see you there :)

IBM :Turning Customers into Advocates

A good pdf document from the IBM retail team. ( see link).

The premise is the while retailers are heeding the daily drumbeat of pundits on the importance of focusing on the customer experience, a gap remains between what retailers are delivering and what shoppers expect.

Retailers can close this gap by systematically integrating knowledge of what their best customers want and expect from their brand into every core operational decision.

This is where the bar will be set for retailers - to turn shoppers into advocates and create a sustainable, differentiated advantage.

This is what RSC is all about: making advocates of your customers for your company.

ARC Advisory Group ranks Manhattan Associates as leading supplier of warehouse management systems

Manhattan Associates: WMS solution achieved first place ranking in 15 categories.
ARC Advisory Group released its “Warehouse Management Systems Worldwide Outlook, Market Analysis and Forecast Through 2013” today, with global supply chain optimization provider Manhattan Associates, Inc. ranking as the leading supplier of total warehouse management software (WMS) and services.

ARC Advisory Group produces the annual forecast which follows more than 80 suppliers of WMS solutions and gives a detailed analysis and forecast for the marketplace through 2013. The Manhattan Associates’ WMS solution achieved a first place ranking in the following categories:

Total WMS Software and Services
Suppliers of WMS Software
Base WMS Software
WMS Add-on Software Modules
WMS Implementation Services
WMS Maintenance Services
WMS in North America
WMS in the Middle East & Africa
WMS in Asia
WMS to Tier 1 Customers
WMS to Tier 3 Customers
Pharmaceutical & Biotech Manufacturers
Wholesale/Distributors
Apparel Retailers
Department & General Merchandise Retailers

"Manhattan is the largest supplier of WMS solutions in the world. The company emerged as the leading supplier of WMS in Asia this year for the first time," says Steve Banker, service director, supply chain management for ARC Advisory Services. "Manhattan also made huge strides in EMEA this year, moving up from the #6 WMS provider to the #2 provider of WMS in the region. Not only did Manhattan Associates increase their global footprint, but they increased their solution footprint significantly by introducing some compelling WMS add-on modules — Supply Chain Intelligence (SCI) and Workforce Schedule Optimization. In a marketplace where it is sometimes difficult to differentiate solutions, Manhattan has continued to extend the runway with science-based applications built exclusively for distribution centers."

"Manhattan's ranking in ARC's “Warehouse Management Systems Worldwide Outlook” underscores our commitment to developing the type of solutions that give our customers a short term path to success while also delivering long term value," says Eddie Capel, executive vice president, global operations, Manhattan Associates. "Our entire suite of distribution management solutions is designed to give our customers flexibility and the ability to add complementary solutions such as Supply Chain Intelligence, Total Cost-to-Serve or Labor Scheduling as their supply chain network continues to grow and mature."

Foot note: In my Opinion if you need a SCM/WMS with the lot then MANH is the group to talk too...

Oracle - Beehive Collaboration Software

Oracle announced enhancements to its recently launched Beehive collaboration software in hopes of positioning it more strongly against long-established offerings from Microsoft and IBM. Oracle also slashed its entry-level price for Beehive from $120 to $50 per user, while announcing prices for a cloud-based version.
According to independent analyst Peter O'Kelly, Beehive represents Oracle's fourth attempt to crack the collaboration market, which has been long dominated by Microsoft and its Exchange and SharePoint products, and IBM with its Lotus Notes and Domino software.

Despite its late entrance to the market, Oracle's senior vice president of collaboration technologies David Gilmour asserts that things will be different for Beehive. "The market leaders are groupware products that have grown up," he said. "Collaboration was layered on after the fact, not designed that way in the beginning. Beehive is almost the complete inverse of that."

Warehouse Management Systems - Outlook to 2012

The ARC group has recently published a Five Year Market Analysis and Forecast through 2013. An overview of the report can be found at http://www.arcweb.com/StudyBrochurePDFs/Study_wms.pdf

The outlook is for slow growth off the back of a drop in 2009.
For many suppliers, strategies must be focused on survival rather than growth.

In putting together their strategies, the following kinds of questions need answers.

• How much will the market consolidate?
• How will 2009 compare to 2008?
• When will the market begin to grow again?
• What types of core WMS solutions and add on modules will sell well during the downturn?
• What regions and industries should suppliers focus on?

WMS is often sold as part of a larger supply chain or enterprise suite. How important is that suite? How does the suite offered by leading suppliers need to change so that leading suppliers can maintain and grow their market share?

The full report can be downloaded from this address : http://www.arcweb.com/Research/Studies/Pages/WMS.aspx
There are also similar reports for TMS, planning, Global Trade, SCE etc

Blue Sky - Insight SCM Visibility

Insight™ is a supply chain visibility application that provides the ability to measure key indicators, monitor process improvements, and maintain supply chain performance across the extended supply chain. By linking information between disparate systems, substantial efficiencies can be gained generating a better return on your supply chain investment. Insight also identifies root cause relationships which allows for improved decision making.

http://www.blueskylogistics.com/insight.html

Great product , sits on multiple WMS applications. Contact me for details...

Growing busines via your Networks - Ivan Misner

I came across a great website and blog by Ivan Misner today: http://networking.entrepreneur.com/. On his website Ivan says ( and i concur).. I “refuse to participate in a recession,” .

He has co-written an e-book on business and success that helps people learn how to go about doing just that. The book was co-authored with 11 of the world’s foremost authorities on business. It’s called The Way Out!–Your GPS “Guided Path to Success,” and it is a road map for how to steer clear of the recession and drive toward success and prosperity. It was published by iLearningGlobal with the goal of giving people everywhere turn-by-turn directions to help navigate away from challenges such as the current economic state, and toward the destination of their personal, professional and financial goals.

You can download the ebook for free from this URL :

http://www.bni.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=xQ3M02K%2bECU%3d&tabid=64

The contents of the ebook reflect many of the ideals and business rules RSC ahere too.

Top 20 Software Vendors in Retailing - Dec 2008

Oracle
SAP
Microsoft
Celerant Technology
Micros Retail
Escalate Retail
Tomax
PCMS
Datafit
ECR Software
Retalix
MicroStrategy
IBM
Magstar
Manhattan Associates
Lawson Software
SAS
Epicor
Radiant Systems
JDA
Software Reflexis

The 6 Laws Of Customer Experience

BRUCE TEMKIN has a great blog site : http://www.experiencematters.wordpress.com/

A recent whitepaper by Bruce lists and discusses the 6 Laws Of Customer Experience.

1) Every interaction creates a personal reaction.
2) People are instinctively self-centered.
3) Customer familiarity breeds alignment.
4) Unengaged employees don't create engaged customers.
5) Employees do what is measured, incented, and celebrated.
6) You can't fake it.


THE BOTTOM LINE: WHEN IT COMES TO THE 6 LAWS OF
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, IGNORANCE IS NOT A VALID DEFENSE.

Check out his website and blog for more details and a full white paper

TESCO to re-launch loyalty scheme24 Apr 2009

Tesco in the UK is set to re-launch its Clubcard loyalty scheme in the next few weeks, in an effort to further build brand loyalty. The re-launch is reportedly likely to be based around the things customers can do with Clubcard and features a significant investment by Tesco’s own admission. The move is part of the retailer’s strategy to get a balance between price and loyalty programmes, as a means of rewarding customers. The chain will likely be looking to ramp-up both its marketing communications of Tesco Clubcard, as well as the analysis of its shopper behaviour data. Industry sources suggest Tesco will need to expand its Clubcard marketing to digital channels as part of the re-launch.

Tesco's focus on Loyalty and multi-media is testiment to the uplift retailers can obtain and retain with a solid focus on Loyalty & multi-media channels marketing.

What is your retail strategy in this area ?

Want to know\ learn\discuss more - then contact me :0)

Planet Retail - Daily News Feed

Planet Retail

Every day, thousands of professionals turn to Planet Retail as the most trusted authority on global retailing. From in-depth company profiles and market analysis to virtual tours and breaking news, our market leading intelligence service can deliver immediate value to your business.Why Planet Retail

I find the website and daily news feed provides a useful incite into the world of retail and retail trends and activites ..

http://www.planetretail.net/

Supply Chain Technology Market to Grow to US$9.2B in 2012

AMR Research estimates the supply chain management (SCM) applications market will grow by seven percent annually for the next five years, despite the gloomy economic conditions of 2008. Now a $6.5B market, it is forecasted that steady growth will bring the SCM applications market close to $9.2B in 2012.
Based on its analysis, the company predicts there is a high likelihood that the economic challenges of the coming years will offer greater opportunities for supply chain technology adoption.“The supply chain, and the technologies that support it, will play an important role in helping companies deal and thrive in an economy that is going to be quite unlike anything we’ve seen in the post-war era,” said John Fontanella, vice president of research at AMR Research.

The study named five major forces that will be at work in the economy and society in the foreseeable future, and how the supply chain and the technologies that support it will help companies in the next five years.
High inflation – Inflation will force supply chain managers to play an important role in protecting product and company margins through cost control and increased efficiencies in their operations. Rising commodity prices – Pressure from higher commodity prices will bring supply more in line with demand and reduce inventory levels from raw materials to the finished product. Threats to brand security – Counterfeiting, the gray market, and questionable quality standards will make brand protection a top priority.

Companies will look to adopt risk mitigation and global trade technologies as well as analytics to monitor distribution channel buy-and-sell patterns. Sustainability becomes a component of corporate decision making – Public sentiment will force substantive measures by industry to become more environmentally friendly.
This will present opportunities to more directly connect product development efforts with supply chain management to minimize waste and material usage. Cash is king – Capital spending will come under scrutiny as companies preserve cash.
Technologies that increase the velocity of cash collection, including B2B e-commerce, will become a critical component of future initiatives.
The report also found that SAP, Oracle, and Manhattan Associates were the three largest SCM vendors by revenue in 2007, with a market share of 13 percent, 10 percent, and five percent respectively. AMR, www.amrresearch.com

Ad.Wright ! - Singapore based

AdWRIGHT is a full service interactive and ideas agency encompassing Branding, Advertising, Marketing, Communications and Web 2.0.

http://www.adwright.com/ is headed up by MARTIN HENWOOD Originally from the UK, Martin moved to Asia back in 2000 and fell in love with Singapore's cross-cultural life style. Martin started out in the Print and Reprographics industry, working with UK Agencies, his early adoption of web technology has been his true passion, always looking for the edge.

As a founding Director of Ad.WRIGHT Communications, Martin has had a unique exposure to IT, agency and business challenges, gaining valuable experience that is used to help Ad.WRIGHT's clients achieve their ultimate business and marketing objectives.

The website is excellent - please check 'em out..