Download PDF

Media Center: Executive Corner

The Right Time to Invest in Supply Chain Solutions

By Ron Grilli, CEO of Simparel, Inc.

In an uncertain economic climate, flexible and cost-effective operations are essential to a company's survival. Over the next five years, nimble global supply chain technology will be the key to successfully compete in the fashion world. From a technology standpoint, ask: Have you taken inventory of your business operations? How much money and labor goes into maintaining your current systems? How quickly and efficiently can you react and deliver to new market demands?

In our homes, we intuitively base purchasing decisions on efficiency when selecting appliances to save money and ensure trouble-free operation. Similarly, as business owners, we should evaluate our current software systems in terms of total cost, efficiency and flexibility. As with the benefits a property owner derives from new technology in appliances, businesses should seek benefits from new technology in ERP solutions that lower labor costs, decrease services bills, and provide trouble-free operation.

Bill-paying property owners know when to replace a furnace or refrigerator. The same decision-making process should apply when evaluating a business technology platform. You might question a repair person who has a vested interest in repairing old broken machines, so examine the objectivity of an IT group or vendor whose livelihood may depend on maintaining the status quo because their competencies are geared to traditional programming languages and methodologies.   As the adage goes, "It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it."

It is also important to recognize when old technology becomes "too old." Think about the rapid advancements in cell phones, PDA devices and computers. While there is no set deadline for becoming outdated, obsolescence is the norm at three years. A business should constantly question the future potential of their long-standing systems in light of what's currently available.  System processes and methods established long ago can't be expected to have continued relevance. Is it prudent to continue to spend money supporting a system that no longer addresses your business needs? Wouldn't it make more sense to invest that money in something better? The central issue is whether your business will survive tomorrow's challenges if you keep running the ERP equivalent of an "old furnace". Regretfully, you might be left out in the cold.

THREE-STEP SUPPLY CHAIN ACTION PLAN

Step One: Take Inventory of Current Systems

You need a clear understanding of how intuitive and flexible your systems are. Your systems must adequately address all business aspects, without any need for users to revert to offline spreadsheet processes or additional manual functions. Make sure that your systems are built on state-of-the-art technology platforms, and evaluate the complexity of managing them. Then ask yourself what competitive value your IT department contributes to your business.

Step Two: Evaluate Your System's Business Risks, Adaptability and Current Costs

Your system should be engineered for any change a key customer or supplier may demand. Specifically question how rigid your system methodologies are, and how difficult it is to make changes. How much iteration is needed to deliver change, and how much time elapses? Do upgrades and customizations work as intended and at what bottom-line cost?

Is your IT group making you hesitant to update systems? Is your software vendor providing you with the latest technology to improve your efficiency and reduce your overall costs?

Make certain that you are in control of important features and functions that are specific to your business. If your system operations rely on a specific software or service provider, do you have control over maintenance cost increases and service rates?   Thoroughly evaluate whether there are obvious areas of improvement that remain broken.

Step Three: Establish a Plan of Action and Execute It

Avoid inflexible costly systems and investigate affordable solutions that address your specific needs. Clearly map better processes that will benefit your business going forward so you don't get trapped into rigid processes that only benefit the software vendor. Use automation to fill the void associated with staff reductions. You'll find that you can overcome inertia by identifying "quick wins" to establish momentum and build confidence.

THE SIMPAREL SOLUTION

Making the decision to change your global supply chain management solution offers a clear opportunity for greater efficiency and cost-savings. Knowledge of new advances in the marketplace will help you put that decision into action. Simparel is a new generation solution that is flexible and scalable, and is revolutionizing supply chain processes from sourcing through delivery.

The Simparel solution is unique because it doesn't use program code to do its work. Instead, it uses a dictionary of terms that enable clients to configure their own operations quickly and easily, on their own sites. The Simparel solution is built on a technology engineered for change that benefits the entire transaction flow of fashion-related businesses.

Simparel cuts customers' implementation costs by at least one third. Simparel also addresses a frequent complaint from businesses using traditional platforms that they feel stuck with their initial system. Simparel adjusts to customers' changing needs, so businesses no longer have to conform to someone else's "best practice."

In order to survive in the future, the best time to adjust is right now. Prepare today for tomorrow's market challenges by improving your processes and lowering your technology overheads.