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Apr 24
2009
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Companies in the supply chains have constantly strived to meet managerial challenge and to obtain value from their supply chains. The retail sector is often a leader in this process and there are many successful retailers who are able to shorten lead time and obtain much more value from supply chain. However, there are many other retailers who, through their own complexity or lack of capability, fail to move forward with supply chain transformation process. Why some retailers can obtain much more value while others can not? Perhaps it derives from the need to address the issue: An Effective Operational Infrastructure.
In the past decades, there is a trend that many retailers (from national chain stores such WalMart to all types of retail businesses) have started to adopt ERP systems to meet their increasing managerial needs. They are in favor of ERP systems because ERP systems address the issue mentioned above in such ways:
- ERP systems are multifunctional in scope, tracking a range of activities such as financial results, sales and human resources.
- ERP systems are integrated in nature, meaning that when data are entered into one function, information in all related functions is also changed immediately.
Thus, an ERP system not only enables retailers to obtain more value from supply chain by:
- Increasing the speed to bring a business opportunity to market;
- Increasing the speed to meet customers' orders which makes low optimum inventory level possible;
- Increasing the speed to adjust categories and assortments according to demand.
An ERP system also helps retailers save money by abandoning high cost for maintaining multiple systems since all functions can be done in one system.
If you are struggling with your retail management, why not give ERP systems a try?
