Part 1 of this blog post series followed the genesis of Manhattan Associates from its inception in 1990 throughout the mid-2000s. During this time, Manhattan Associates was the epitome of an impeccable supply chain management (SCM) software company in terms of market share, growth, profitability, and its product capabilities. Indeed, the company set the industry standard for the supply chain execution (SCE) space and was the envy of its competitors.

But lately, the two competitors that had long looked at Manhattan from behind, RedPrairie Corporation and JDA Software, have been posting much more upbeat news in terms of growth in contrast to Manhattan’s declining revenues. Part 2 analyzed some possible reasons behind that occurrence and focused on RedPrairie’s track record.

Part 3 analyzed the current market dynamics in the retail sector, and explained the ongoing resurgence of JDA Software.

Part 4 of this blog post series will conclude with predictions about what’s in store (no pun intended) for all three renowned SCM vendors. Read the rest of this entry »

While my colleagues Khudsiya Quadri and Gabriel Georghiu diligently attended numerous conference sessions and reported their impressions of each convention day (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4), my much shorter attendance of the APICS 2009 International Conference in Toronto (Canada) in early October revolved mainly around exploring the expo floor and talking to the exhibitors. My overwhelming impression from the conference’s expo floor was that the main value propositions this year revolved around the flavors of demand management.

This was not too terribly surprising, given that the past two years have dispelled any doubts about the advantages of managing demand effectively. First, as an overture to the recession, companies and consumers were battered by a sharp rise in energy costs (especially crude oil), which resulted in sky-rocketing transportation costs and reduced margins.

Then, when the recession came in earnest, they were hit by the precipitous economic downturn, which resulted in an almost unprecedented drop-off in demand (and fuel prices). Many companies were “left holding the baby,” i.e., their hedge transportation contracts that once seemed to be a smart strategy of locking carrier price and capacity.

Read the rest of this entry »

Part 1 of this blog post series expanded on some of TEC’s earlier articles about companies’ need for better pricing management and optimization practices. This series, which focuses on the complexity of pricing and promotions in retailing, was inspired by JDA Software’s recent “edu-nouncement” on leading retailers’ consumer-centric pricing and promotion strategies and Revionics’ recent (and still ongoing) educational series of Web-seminars.

To recap Part 1: due to the phenomenon of the “cross-elasticity” of demand, retailers may want to consider whether promoting an item would result in increased sales volume and, if so, whether that increase would represent incremental revenue or merely cannibalize sales of other items. Retailers have to be able to compare items on promotion against the entire department, product category, and subcategory. Read the rest of this entry »

The “Four Ps” of marketing strategy, also known as the “marketing mix,” are basically applicable to all businesses. TEC’s two-part blog post series in 2008 talked about the importance of pricing management in a down economy. Price and promotion in particular are the lubricants in retailing, although the two remaining Ps–product and place, are indisputably important there as well.

In his guest author article in Retail Info Systems (RIS) News, Wayne Usie, senior vice president of retail at JDA Software, remarks that one doesn’t have to go far to see the impact the economy is having on retailers. The evening news is plagued with store closings, while “going out of business signs” and ominously empty “for rent” spaces seem to pop up on every corner. Read the rest of this entry »

Part 1 of this blog post series followed the progress of Manhattan Associates from its inception in 1990 throughout the mid-2000s. During this time, Manhattan was the epitome of a well-managed supply chain management (SCM) software company in terms of market share, growth, profitability, and its products’ capabilities. Indeed, the company set the industry standard for the supply chain execution (SCE) space and was the envy of its competitors.

But lately, the two competitors that had long looked at Manhattan from behind, RedPrairie Corporation and JDA Software, have been posting much more upbeat news in terms of growth in contrast to Manhattan’s declining revenues. Part 2 analyzed some possible reasons behind that occurrence and focused on RedPrairie’s emergence.

Part 3 of this blog post series will analyze the current market dynamics in the retail sector, and try to explain the ongoing resurgence of JDA Software.  Read the rest of this entry »

The last day of the conference is different in three ways: there is no general session today; we have plant tours in the afternoon; and the exhibitors are gone (which is too bad, because for IBM only you could spend hours talking with all the vendors in their booth). Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s general session showcased people from around the world (Mexico, China, Italy, South Africa, Poland, India, Egypt, US, etc.) and their stories about what work in manufacturing and supply chain means to them. The idea behind this was to show us how supply chain concepts are being embraced worldwide—and the presenters did it by showing media clips and images from different continents. Read the rest of this entry »

Part 1 of this blog post series followed the progress of Manhattan Associates from its inception in 1990 throughout the mid-2000s. During this time, Manhattan Associates was the epitome of an immaculate supply chain management (SCM) software company in terms of market share, growth, profitability, and its products’ capabilities. Indeed, the company was the industry standard for the supply chain execution (SCE) space and the envy of competitors.

But lately, the two competitors that had long looked at Manhatan from behind, RedPrairie Corporation and JDA Software, have been posting much more upbeat news in terms of growth in contrast to Manhattan’s declining revenues. This post analyzes the possible reasons behind that occurrence. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2009 APICS International Conference and Expo is starting next week in Toronto (Canada). One of the educational tracks is focusing on how to manage inventory in a changing economy. As inventory is a challenging issue for all types of manufacturing organizations, regardless of industry. If an organization can manage its inventory without losing focus on demand and where its dollars are being spent, it may achieve its inventory objectives. Gary Gossard (president of IQR International) gave a preview presentation in a webinar in which he pointed out a technique that can be used by organizations to manage inventory and reduce waste during changing economic times. Read the rest of this entry »

Throughout the late 1990s and the mid-2000s, Manhattan Associates was the epitome of a well-managed supply chain management (SCM) software company in terms of market share, growth, profitability, and its products’ capabilities. Simply stated, the company set the industry standard for the supply chain execution (SCE) space and was the envy of its competitors.  Read the rest of this entry »

In the forthcoming 2009 APICS International Conference and Expo, many educational tracks will be covered by industry leaders, and lean is one of them. Since we are in a global economic crisis where every manufacturer, supplier, and producer is trying to reduce cost and minimize waste while increasing production or throughput, I am particularly interested in the “lean” educational track to hear what the experts are saying. Recently, I had the privilege of attending the preview of “Lean for Materials Managers” by Bill Kerber, President of High Mix Lean. Read the rest of this entry »

Part 1 of this blog series depicted the rise and fall of erstwhile public software company Click Commerce based in Chicago, Illinois (US). At the end of the post, I mentioned the merger of Servigistics and Click Commerce’s Service Network Services (SNS) division. The private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners acquired both entities recently with the idea of forming a new combined company to solve the planning, optimization, execution, and analytics challenges associated with delivering post-sale service.

Part 2 then presented two blog entries with opposing views on the merger and its prospects. It raised the point as to whether any prospective company in need of service-oriented solutions would look for an all-in-one service lifecycle management (SLM) solution (platform) per se, or would maybe start evaluating the service capabilities of their incumbent enterprise resource planning (ERP) provider, possibly combined with more focused best-of-breed vendors. Read the rest of this entry »

Part 1 of this blog series outlined Epicor 9 (a.k.a., Epicor ERP [evaluate this product]), Epicor Software’s next-generation converged product suite. A similar feat is yet to be accomplished even by mighty Oracle within Oracle Fusion Applications.

The article also discussed Epicor’s accompanying “protect, extend, and converge” strategy for providing customers with a migration path choice at their own timetable and convenience. The article then went on to dig deeper and explain a number of enabling technologies and concepts within Epicor 9, starting with Epicor BPM (Business Process Management).

Part 2 then analyzed the major enabling concepts and technologies within the product, such as Epicor ICE (Internet Component Environment) 2.0 Business Architecture, which is based on Epicor TrueSOA™ and includes the Epicor Everywhere Framework™. The article also dug deeper into the suite’s built-in business intelligence (BI) and enterprise performance management (EPM) capabilities.

Part 3 of this blog series analyzes further unconventional and nifty tools and technologies within Epicor 9, and concludes the series with some insights into the product’s future enhancements. Read the rest of this entry »

Even though we have made enormous advances in technology and business processes, many organizations and manufacturers still cannot perform basic warehouse operations without going into reactive mode. This is mainly due to a lack of proper or basic inventory record maintenance and accuracy.

Some organizations don’t measure inventory in an accurate manner, or they don’t even have such measurements in place. Organizations need to understand that there are multiple benefits associated with having proper inventory management processes in place—to provide not only excellent customer service, but also to help determine future purchases and what needs to be prioritized in the manufacturing plant; reduce operating costs; and provide accurate data for financial records. Read the rest of this entry »

Part 1 of this blog series depicted the rise and fall of of erstwhile public software company Click Commerce based in Chicago, Illinois, United States (US). At the end, the article mentioned the July 2009 merger of Servigistics and Click Commerce’s Service Network Services (SNS) division.

The private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners acquired both entities recently with the idea of forming a new combined company to solve the planning, optimization, execution, and analytics challenges associated with delivering post-sale service. The new company, with estimated combined revenue of nearly $100 million (USD), will be headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (US) and retain the Servigistics name and its chief executive officer (CEO). Read the rest of this entry »