As the spiraling economy intensifies, so does the need to cut costs and increase efficiency. In this environment, on-demand solutions are rapidly gaining appeal. With large-scale capital projects facing unprecedented scrutiny, gone are the days when organizations could afford to buy and maintain expensive on-premise legacy systems that required months or even years to provide a return on investment. Instead, today's companies are seeking ways to operate fast and light -- increasing the demand for affordable, easy-to-implement, high-value solutions that solve myriad of business challenges and deliver measurable results in a short period of time.
In particular, the need for effective supply chain management (SCM) has never been greater. Regardless of size or tenure, companies are outsourcing most or all of their manufacturing operations to regions often outside their target markets, dramatically increasing supply chain complexity and volatility. At the same time, the push for innovation has reached an all-time high and continues to grow. Precarious global markets demand steadily improving business results, leading to more stringent operations performance goals -- especially inventory cost reductions -- and heightening the stress on IT staff and budgets.
These pressures have converged to create an ideal opportunity for on-demand or software as a service (SaaS) SCM offerings. By consolidating traditional SCM solutions -- such as spreadsheets, custom planning applications and databases -- into a single on-demand service, companies can rapidly gain tangible benefits to IT and the business. SaaS offers a unique medium that removes the traditional barriers to software application adoption by minimizing implementation risk and ownership costs. And the SaaS model is a natural extension of the growing use of outsourcing among brand owners and manufacturers. In short, SaaS is simpler and less expensive... and its time to shine is now.
SaaS solutions can provide the global visibility and mission-critical tools companies need to manage today's highly distributed and collaborative supply chains, offering a host of distinct advantages over legacy system.
Faster Deployment
Streamlined deployment processes can be completed in a matter of weeks and require only limited IT resources, enabling users to realize value quickly. This is simply unheard of for traditional business applications.
Cost-effective Implementation
Monthly subscription fees replace perpetual fully paid licenses, allowing organizations to recapture solution costs through efficiency savings and other benefits as they go. On-demand offerings can usually be implemented for the amount typically spent on just one or two software licenses, generating major savings for enterprises with multiple users. The elimination of hardware purchases and maintenance expenses increases savings even more.
Minimal Risk
"Try and buy" programs offered by many SaaS providers allow companies to employ the solution on a trial basis, eradicating the risks of major up-front capital investment required for traditional systems.
Easier Internal 'Sell'
Finance departments are more willing to pay small monthly fees for solutions that promise immediate ROI than to lay out large sums for software and systems that offer uncertain returns.
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