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Published on: March 2006
Type of content: ANALYST REPORT
Format: .pdf (125421 kb)
Length: 5 pages
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Overview:
Manufacturers often create strategic initiatives to improve
operational effectiveness. Annual reports discuss them
eloquently. The programs have aims such as streamlining the
end-to-end supply chain, eliminating time lags in business
processes, coordinating activities across departments, and
collaborating to create a responsive, real-time enterprise.
Several years into these initiatives, many companies are
disappointed by their progress. While they usually see gains,
they rarely match up to the vision. Why is this?
Usually, it's not due to insufficient spending on information
systems. Most companies understand that accurate and consistent
data for all is a foundation for achieving results. So they
implement enterprise-level software such as Supply Chain
Planning (SCP) and Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP). With the
data consolidated into one or two modern, integrated systems it
seems employees should have what they need to operate
effectively; however, many do not. These systems are tightly
focused. The majority of employees -- and managers -- are not
trained to use them. With that realization, companies often
spend significant time and effort to build data warehouses.
These aggregate data from multiple systems and format it into
useful management reports. From these, executives often gain a
clear view that they are still far from achieving desired
results.
All of this investment without achieving corporate objectives
has raised questions about the return-on-investment (ROI) of
enterprise software applications. What most companies are
missing today is not data, but data liquidity. Key data is
locked in systems that most employees can't use. By adding a
mechanism to facilitate the flow of data throughout the
enterprise, all of these other investments can deliver the
returns originally envisioned.
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