Years of publication: 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999   September 2007 September 28, 2007 Innovation and Change in Human Resources Learning Review's Veronica Inoue interviewed two representatives of the Interamerican Federation of Human Resource Management Associations (Federación Interamericana de Asociaciones de Gestión Humana), who attended the Human Management Conference held by la Asociación de Recursos Humanos de la Argentina. September 26, 2007 Welcome to BI Showdown: Oracle Hyperion System 9 vs. Microsoft ProClarity vs. Exact Business Analytics I'm Lyndsay Wise, senior research analyst at Technology Evaluation Centers. Welcome to another in TEC's series of enterprise software Vendor Showdowns. Today's Showdown pits three of the top business intelligence (BI) vendors against each other in a head-to-head contest: Oracle's Hyperion System 9 vs. Microsoft ProClarity vs. Exact Business Analytics. We hope you find this Vendor Showdown helpful and informative, and invite your comments and questions. September 24, 2007 Customer Relationship Management: Evolution, Not Revolution Customer relationship management (CRM) can be a tool for positive change in businesses' operations. Or CRM can—unintentionally—cause a host of problems, from lost employee time to lost customer data. But with the right information, implementing CRM allows evolution without the upset of revolution. September 21, 2007 At Last—A Complete (and Successful) RFID Implementation A radio frequency identification implementation is a major undertaking for any organization—a project with ample risk of failure. This entire series is a step-by-step guide to the process, with this final part including a comprehensive glossary of key terms for better understanding. September 21, 2007 Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Case Study Find out how one American manufacturer with a hot new product line found a product lifecycle management (PLM) system that would enable its team to meet demand in record time. Oddly enough, it was right under their noses the whole time… September 19, 2007 Applying the Power of Social Networks to Customer Relationship Management Customer relationship management (CRM) is rapidly morphing from a customer management model to one of customer engagement. Social networks, podcasts, blogs, and wikis are enabling customers to become advocates, and not simply the targets they were in the traditional CRM process. The same techniques are also being used within the CRM industry itself to create a content-rich, social media environment for CRM professionals. Find out what these sweeping changes mean to businesses and CRM professionals alike, as TEC's director of research Wayne Thompson sits down with Paul Greenberg and Bruce Culbert of BPT Partners, a leading CRM consulting firm. September 17, 2007 RFID Implementation: Moving Forward through the Four Phases Implementation of a radio frequency identification system is best approached in four phases to ensure its success. Discussed here are the second and third phases, which deal with testing and validation, and the importance of setting up a pilot implementation. September 14, 2007 Radio Frequency Identification Implementation: The First Steps Phase one of the four phase approach to a successful radio frequency identification implementation consists of several essential steps, including the careful selection of business partners and the development of a test environment and corrective label placement procedures. September 12, 2007 Oracle Product Showdown! JD Edwards EnterpriseOne vs. E-Business Suite In JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and E-Business Suite, Oracle has two of the most popular enterprise solutions available in the marketplace today. To compare these two Oracle products, we looked at six standard enterprise resource planning (ERP) modules: supply chain management, distribution process management, web commerce, human resources, financials, and product technology. To eliminate any chance of bias and to ensure a level playing field, all 3,214 criteria that make up these six modules (and their submodules) in our ERP Evaluation Center were given equal weight and priority… September 7, 2007 A How-to Guide for a Radio Frequency Identification Site Survey As organizations prepare for a radio frequency identification (RFID) implementation, they often don't understand the preliminary work necessary to begin the project. The importance of a site survey can influence the success or failure of an RFID project. September 5, 2007 Podcast: A Project Manager's Guide to Business Performance Management As business performance management (BPM) has expanded into virtually all areas of business, project managers have been broadening their soft management skills. Learn what project managers can borrow from BPM to streamline service delivery, optimize operations, and improve customer satisfaction.   August 2007 August 31, 2007 Maximizing Potential Benefits in Reverse Auctions Reverse auction (RA) has emerged as a strategic tool for consumer packaged goods companies pursuing cost efficiencies in their sourcing programs. This article presents a framework to structure and gain maximum mileage out of the RA process. August 27, 2007 A Primer on Lean Manufacturing Using Microsoft Dynamics AX Lean manufacturing constructs have been incorporated into the Microsoft Dynamics AX package, enabling firms to support lean and traditional manufacturing practices in a single system. This primer covers the constructs for supporting many of the variations in lean practices. August 24, 2007 Are Software Vendors Messing with Your Head? (The Art of Reading White Papers) If you're researching a software selection project, you need to take full advantage of the white papers available to you. Find out about the top 10 white paper buzzwords used today—and learn how to make solid sense of them. August 22, 2007 Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe: Software Selection, Its Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them The process of selecting software can be streamlined by paying close attention to the types and quantities of criteria you use. Better decision processes will distinguish between two key types of criteria and limit the number of criteria considered. August 20, 2007 Zooming into the Clothing Retailer Conundrum If retailers in the vertical market of fashion apparel do not constantly refresh their presentation and assortment for consumers, they run the risk of being overtaken by their competition, regardless of how competitively they source and deliver. August 17, 2007 No One Said Sourcing Overseas Would Be Easy The many challenges and risks that retailers face when sourcing globally could be mitigated with the right software tools. Yet the sad fact is that few information technology systems fully support the complexities and unique requirements of global trade. August 15, 2007 The Anatomy of Retail Sourcing Processes The most successful retailers are those that continually focus on driving the very best performance from each of their suppliers, and that work collaboratively to improve performance in areas such as on-time delivery, product quality, and regulatory compliance. August 13, 2007 The Promise (and Complexities) of Private Labels Recent studies have shown that retail winners (that is, companies that outperform their peers in year-over-year, comparable store sales) carry a significantly higher percentage of private label merchandise than their competitors do. August 8, 2007 Optimizing the Supply Chain and Increasing Customer Satisfaction: An Interview with Robert Abate of RCG Information Technology Manufacturers must constantly address how to increase customer satisfaction, identify supply chain issues before they become problems, and lower production costs. In this podcast, Lyndsay Wise and Robert Abate discuss the benefits business intelligence provides to help address these topics. August 6, 2007 The Blessing and Curse of Global Sourcing and Supplier Management The appeal of global sourcing is understandable given the benefits of seemingly lower costs. But without discerning hidden challenges and eliminating potential shortcomings, the process may be more costly than anticipated—a situation especially true for companies using inadequate, out-of-date enterprise information technology infrastructures.   July 2007 July 31, 2007 ERP − Distribution Showdown! Oracle's JD Edwards vs. TGI's Enterprise 21 Using our ERP - Distribution Evaluation Center, we compared Oracle's JD Edwards and Technology Group International head-on. For the overall rankings portion, we looked at these vendors' solutions in two basic configurations, with and without back-office (human resources [HR] and financials) functionality. To eliminate any chance of bias and to ensure a level playing field, all 3, 414 criteria comprising all the modules and submodules in the ERP - distribution request for information (RFI) were given equal weight and priority... July 25, 2007 Podcast: What the Revolution in ERP for Distribution Means to Your Organization Today, globalization is becoming a way of business. With big-box retailers, supplier relationship management (SRM) has become an important component in how organizations conduct business. In this podcast, Rodney Winger from Epicor discusses ERP - distribution software and SRM solutions. July 23, 2007 How One Vendor's Software Solutions Address the Insurance Industry's Unique Issues Callidus Software's latest enterprise incentive management and sales performance management product suite for the insurance sector aims at helping insurance carriers improve agent retention and at providing producers with the best service possible. July 20, 2007 How Can Insurance Carriers Retain and Reward True Producers? The enterprise incentive management and sales performance management market is evolving rapidly. Callidus Software remains the vendor of choice for some of the largest companies in the world. The vendor is aiming to cement its leadership within the insurance sector. July 18, 2007 Merchandising Showdown! Lawson vs. Epicor/CRS vs. Aldata Using our Merchandising Evaluation Center , we compared Lawson Software, Epicor, and Aldata Solution head-on. For the overall rankings portion, we looked at these vendor solutions in two basic configurations, with and without POS functionality. To eliminate any chance of bias, and to ensure a level playing field, all 3,072 criteria comprising all the modules and submodules in the merchandising request for information (RFI) were given equal weight and priority… July 16, 2007 Improving Human Performance by Identifying the Gaps Mariano Bernárdez, expert in performance improvement, was interviewed in Buenos Aires (Argentina) by Learning Review's Verónica Inoue. Inoue asked Bernardez about his new book, Tecnología del Desempeño Humano (Human Performance Technology), and how this issue affects the Latin-American market. July 13, 2007 The Return of Supplier Relationship Management Globalization, technology stabilization, inventory visibility, and traceability are forcing organizations to reevaluate supplier relationship management systems. The benefits of a customer relationship management system that can be applied to a supply chain can streamline operations and increase bottom line results. July 6, 2007 Two Stalwart Vendors Discuss Mid-market Issues In continuing our first-time ever questions-and-answers series for software applications vendors, Infor and IFS, two upper mid-market, stalwart vendors, express their views on market trends, platform approaches, and mid-market issues. July 4, 2007 The CMO–CIO Organizational Alignment Mandate Chief information officer reporting relationships continue to be distanced from the strategy function. The marketing function is experiencing this same distancing from strategy. However, the two functions should be on the leading edge of strategy, rather than the receiving end. July 2, 2007 Two Stalwart Vendors Discuss Platform Approaches (Wars) Infor and IFS, two upper mid-market, stalwart vendors, were the first to respond to our questions-and-answers series directed at software application vendors. Based on our questions, these two vendors share their views on market trends, platform approaches, and mid-market issues.   June 2007 June 29, 2007 Two Stalwart Vendors Discuss Market Trends In this unique question and answer series, vendors were given the opportunity to put forth their views on market trends, platform approaches, and mid-market issues. The questions posed to willing participants of this opinion poll are elaborated on here. June 22, 2007 Is There a Way to Avoid Lengthy Catalog Numbers? A sales configurator needs to be able to "decipher" products' specifications from a rule-based, constructed catalog number. Part number users should query vendors to determine whether their enterprise solutions cater to the needs of industrial automation manufacturers. June 22, 2007 ERP - Distribution Showdown! Microsoft Dynamics NAV vs. Retalix vs. Epicor Enterprise I'm Dylan Persaud, senior analyst at Technology Evaluation Centers. Welcome to another in our ongoing series of enterprise software Showdowns. Today's Showdown pits three of the top ERP - Distribution solutions against each other in a head-to-head contest: Microsoft Dynamics vs.Retalix vs. Epicor Enterprise! We hope you find this Showdown helpful and informative, and invite your comments and questions. June 20, 2007 Can We Intelligently Use Part Numbers to Configure and Order the Right Products? In the industrial automation industry, an overlooked, fatal flaw of sales configurator solutions is their inability to simultaneously configure part numbers and products. A greater concern is their inability to "decipher" product specifications from part numbers—that is, in reverse. June 13, 2007 Recent Developments in One Price Management Provider's Business A quality product offering doesn't guarantee success for any up-and-coming vendor, especially in a market requiring more awareness and depending on organizational change. While Zilliant appears to be the early market leader, its long-term success depends on several factors. June 12, 2007 A Guide to ERP for Service Organizations Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is enabling service organizations to streamline service delivery, optimize operations, and improve customer satisfaction. In this podcast, TEC analyst Neil Stolovitsky sits down with Oracle's Ted Kempf for his take on the unique implementation requirements of ERP systems for professional service organizations, as well as the role technology plays in running a successful service business. June 11, 2007 How One Provider's Solution Covers the Bases of Price Optimization and Management What are the solutions that enable Zilliant's customers to gain a better understanding of their markets' price response and translate this into more profitable pricing? Zilliant Precision Pricing Suite encompasses distinct solutions geared for each step of the pricing process. June 8, 2007 How One Vendor Parlays Price Variation into Profit Improvement Opportunities Rather than sticking to such outdated and speculative pricing practices as "cost plus" or "meet competition," Zilliant suggests companies leverage data to determine how market price response varies, and use this holistic measure of price sensitivity to optimize pricing. June 6, 2007 What if Companies Could Use Science to Align Prices to Market and Maximize Margins? Zilliant, a data-driven, price management software provider, aims to enable business-to-business companies to optimize revenue and margins through decision support and automation software that delivers more effective discount guidelines, in-depth price analytics, intelligent deal management, and successful price promotions. June 4, 2007 A Dynamic Answer to Enterprise Resource Planning for Services Enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors do battle to win business and Epicor is leveraging Microsoft's technology to deliver a mid-market solution to services industries. Despite Microsoft's competing ERP offering, Epicor continues to build a Microsoft-centric solution with its partners' support.   May 2007 May 30, 2007 BPM Showdown! Oracle's Hyperion System 9 vs. OutlookSoft vs. Cartesis Suite I'm Lyndsay Wise, senior research analyst at Technology Evaluation Centers. Welcome to another in TEC's series of enterprise software Showdowns. Today's Showdown pits three of the top business performance management (BPM) vendors against each other in a head-to-head contest: Hyperion System 9 vs. OutlookSoft vs. Cartesis Suite! We hope you find this Showdown helpful and informative, and invite your comments and questions. May 30, 2007 Productivity for Software Estimators Presently, software estimation is considered to be an art rather than a science. At the heart of this perception is the lack of understanding of the concept of "productivity." This article attempts to provide insight into the concept of productivity. May 29, 2007 Case Study: Manufacturing ERP Evaluation & Implementation A leading South Korean auto parts manufacturer turns to new ERP system to reduce costs, create an integrated system featuring standard processes and links to automobile manufacturers, and institute profitability checks on each product via profit analysis. The company had been considering adopting a new ERP system for quite some time. ERP held out the promise of cost reduction by significantly cutting inventory, and encouraging transparency and process innovation. More… May 28, 2007 Customer Relationship Management and Social Networks—They're Related How, Again? No company today can afford to ignore the value of its customers' natural social networking behavior. The advantages that these social networks can bring to a company's customer relationship management platform are powerful tools that can ultimately improve its products. May 28, 2007 So What's the Bottom Line on Price Segmentation? Data-driven, science-based price management is an emerging market. Therefore, vendors should be made to prove whether and how they can enable a company to achieve and measure margin lift, or return on investment, of their price management applications. May 25, 2007 Business-to-business Price Segmentation—Outlined and Explained The central premise of price segmentation, especially in business-to-business environments, is that pricing should be consistent for similar deals. The process quantifies similarity by empirically determining which deal circumstances affect price response, enabling companies to benchmark prices against similar transactions. May 23, 2007 Advancing the Art of Pricing with Science Companies in search of a better, more precise method to determine the best prices for their products and to meet their margins, should harness statistical science to analyze transactions, and associated optimization algorithms to maximize revenues and profits. May 21, 2007 Enterprise Resource Planning for Services: Has Software as a Service Become Service-oriented Architecture for Small to Medium Businesses? In the past, enterprise resource planning (ERP) initiatives were far too costly for smaller organizations to consider. However, a trend has recently emerged where software vendors are now offering software-as-a-service business models for ERP implementation to even the smallest organizations. May 18, 2007 Know Thy Market Segment's Price Response Since no variable can influence margins as much as pricing, almost all companies need to approach the management of selling prices, discretionary discounts, and potential price increases with the same firmness they use to manage manufacturing and procurement costs. May 14, 2007 How One On Demand Vendor Addresses Its Unique Challenges and Competition As the software-as-a-service market matures, and while it remains appealing to resource-constrained companies, organizations having up to 500 payees, and that are in need of complex compensation calculation and multitier compensation rules, should consider Centive Compel product suite. May 11, 2007 On Demand Compensation Management Partnerships for Spiffed-up Success Centive's strategy is to form a limited number of strategic partnerships with leading management consulting firms to ensure customers receive the highest levels of service and support. Pertinent alliances made include one offering sales performance incentive funding formulas (SPIFFs). May 9, 2007 The Compelling Capabilities of One Compensation Management Vendor's Solution Despite its product's notable functional scope, Centive is committed to being the leader in on demand sales compensation management. The vendor believes it now has sufficient resources to fund research and development, as well as business initiatives. May 7, 2007 On Demand Delivery Compels a Compensation Management Vendor The on demand paradigm and enterprise incentive management market seem to have established a viable cross-section to the extent that, going forward, some players feel comfortable enough to opt solely for the software-as-a-service, subscription-based delivery model. May 4, 2007 One Vendor's Dedicated Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance Unit SAP's governance, risk management, and compliance roadmap is still in its beginning stages. Only time will prove the vendor's delivery of true, tangible products (and not vaporware), as well as the success of those products with current and prospective customers. May 2, 2007 How a Leading Vendor Embraces Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance SAP AG has long committed to placing compliance at the core of its product suite, as the vendor has recognized the growing role of enterprise systems in assisting companies to meet the increasing challenges of corporate compliance and risk management.   April 2007 April 30, 2007 Requirement Traceability—A Tester's Approach The value of a requirement traceability matrix is in its ability to track and monitor each requirement to be incorporated into the customer's product throughout the entire process of product development, and to detect defects at the earliest stage possible. April 27, 2007 EAM Showdown! IFS vs. Mincom vs. CHAMPS Using our EAM Evaluation Center, we compared Mincom Ellipse, CHAMPS, and IFS head-on. For the overall rankings, we looked at the vendors in two basic configurations: with back-office (HR and financials) functionality, for a total of eight main modules, and without, for a total of six main modules. To eliminate any chance of bias, and to ensure a level playing field, all 3,146 criteria comprising the modules and submodules in the EAM request for information (RFI) were given equal weight and priority. April 27, 2007 How One Vendor Addresses Support and Maintenance Issues SAP is addressing the problem of customers wanting support that vendors are either not providing, or providing at unjustifiable prices. Support and maintenance customers are committed to service contracts, but only to a point. New options are thus available. April 25, 2007 Criteria for Selecting a Software Estimation Tool A plethora of software estimation tools are available, each claimed to be better than the others, thereby confusing prospective buyers. An effective tool ought to provide for all four aspects of software estimation, namely, size, effort, cost, and schedule. April 23, 2007 Latest Developments for a Vendor-neutral Third Party Support and Maintenance Provider Rimini Street is not trying to be a software vendor. Rather, the third party support and maintenance provider is a focused system implementation and consulting firm that sells its services under service contracts instead of mere break-fix arrangements. April 20, 2007 Is There a Street Corner for a Vendor-neutral Third Party Support and Maintenance Provider? Although Rimini Street's client base is still budding, the third party provider of support and maintenance has been quite bullish, owing to the accelerating demand for its service lines; healthy win ratios; and solid execution of its aggressive business plan. April 18, 2007 Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 for Manufacturing Environments This continues a reprint of the summary chapter from the book Managing Your Supply Chain Using Microsoft Dynamics AX by Dr. Scott Hamilton. In this second part, design factors related to system usage in manufacturing enterprises are covered. April 16, 2007 Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 for Distribution Environments This is a reprint of the summary chapter from the book Managing Your Supply Chain Using Microsoft Dynamics AX by Dr. Scott Hamilton. In this first part, design factors related to system usage in distribution enterprises are covered. April 13, 2007 ERP Case Study: Software Selection & Implementation Midsize automotive specialty pipe manufacturer Poppe & Potthoff knew it needed to modernize its heterogeneous, legacy business software environment across product ranges, locations, and business units, and streamline and automate its processes. When the search began for an appropriate ERP solution, integration and scalability were at the top of P&P's list of requirements... April 11, 2007 Alternative Software Support and Maintenance Options Smart companies are investigating all possible software support and maintenance (S&M) options. Alternative software S&M is not for all businesses, but it seems a logical option for technologically conservative (and savvy) companies that do not need all the available upgrades. April 11, 2007 ERP Showdown—Round 2! Exact Macola ES vs. Infor SyteLine vs. QAD MFG/PRO I'm Dylan Persaud, senior analyst at Technology Evaluation Centers. Due to the overwhelming response to our first ERP Showdown, we're pleased to present another head-to-head discrete enterprise resource planning (ERP) comparison. Here, then, is ERP Showdown, Round 2!—featuring Exact Macola ES vs. Infor SyteLine vs. QAD MFG/PRO. April 9, 2007 The Evolution of Enterprise Resource Planning Includes Service Industries Enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors have extended their functionality to service vertical markets in the service industry. As a result, ERP for services has emerged as a viable software category competing with the best-of-breed vendors serving professional services sector industries. April 4, 2007 What Are the Support and Maintenance Options? Enterprise software licensees do have a choice when it comes to software support and maintenance (S&M) providers, with several, less expensive options existing for any company that is considering discontinuing S&M for an application product. April 2, 2007 What Is the Value Proposition of Support and Maintenance? Mature systems in any enterprise require an approach different from newer implementations to software support—one that focuses on customization, interoperability, and performance support. Yet despite this fact, most vendors continue to offer the same one-size-fits-all models of support.   March 2007 March 30, 2007 Support and Maintenance: No Longer the Software Industry's ''Best Kept Secret''? Support and maintenance (S&M) contracts mean very different things to vendors and to users. With user enterprises' growing awareness of how these S&M agreements affect their bottom lines, vendors need to reassess their pricing and value proposition strategies. March 27, 2007 Will User Enterprises Ever Get onto an Easy (Support and Maintenance) Street? Vendors' traditional pricing strategies aren't going to work much longer. Sooner or later, prices will be determined by what the market is ready to bear rather than be based on what vendors think is a profitable way to deliver solutions. March 26, 2007 The Post-implementation Agility of Enterprise Systems: An Analysis Very few companies really run standard software applications as "standard" products, since every business changes constantly. In fact, these companies have found that the agility they wish to attain is in direct conflict with the rigidity of their enterprise systems. March 23, 2007 Flexible Customer Data Integration Solution Adapts to Your Business Needs Siperian's master data management and customer data integration (CDI) solutions allow organizations to consolidate, manage, and customize customer-related data. The type of CDI hub implemented depends on the CDI environment's maturity, requirements, and alignment with an organization's internal processes. March 21, 2007 Conviction is the Intangible in a Successful Positioning Process You need conviction to skillfully handle the inevitable criticism during the positioning process. Otherwise, you're likely to try something different every time someone challenges you. This doesn't need to happen. Adopt a positioning process that includes an evaluation criterion. March 16, 2007 A Simplified Approach to Powerful, Flexible Data Visualization Corda's CenterView™ enterprise performance dashboards allow users and software partners to use Corda's dashboards to create the presentation layer of analytics, and to help organizations present and achieve their business goals across the organization. March 12, 2007 Why Database-agnostic Enterprise Applications Are on the Way Out Middleware agnosticism is the wave of the future, and the database platform is becoming part of the application. It has therefore become increasingly important that vendors of enterprise applications offer a wider range of middleware choices to organizations. March 9, 2007 The Challenges of Defining and Managing Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance A broader, more structured approach is needed to effectively manage governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC). Enterprises will then be better able to guide their people, standardize their processes, and unify technology to embed GRC at all organizational levels. March 9, 2007 ERP Showdown: Deltek Costpoint vs. Microsoft Dynamics AX vs. Oracle E-Business Suite We looked at eight standard ERP modules. To eliminate any chance of bias, and to ensure a level playing field, all 3,600 criteria that make up the modules and submodules in our ERP Evaluation Center were given equal weight and priority. In other words, no area of functionality was treated as being more important than any other. March 7, 2007 Global Trade and the Role of Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance Software The growing number of legal and regulatory requirements associated with global trading is one of many reasons enterprises are looking into global trade management applications, and into harnessing the up-and-coming, strategic software category of governance, risk management, and compliance. March 2, 2007 Automotive Industry and Food, Safety, and Drug Regulations Enterprise application providers wanting to address the distinct regulatory requirements of the automotive, food, safety, and life sciences industries need to offer enterprises industry-oriented enterprise resource planning systems that are sound and compliance-ready.   February 2007 February 28, 2007 Experiencing the Customer Experience: Listening to, Learning from, and Acting on the Voice of the Customer To ensure a positive customer experience, companies must first learn what their customer values, and then determine how they are measuring up to those values. Obtaining and taking action on customer feedback is what customer experience management is all about. February 26, 2007 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act May Be Just the Tip of a Compliance Iceberg The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is not the only government regulation that enterprises must comply with. Several others make it imperative that appropriate enterprise resource planning and financial management systems provide comprehensive sets of financials and analytics capabilities to ensure compliance. February 23, 2007 Important Sarbanes-Oxley Act Mandates and What They Mean for Supply Chain Management Two sections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) have major implications for supply chain management. Yet enterprises can meet the challenges created by SOX more easily by using software tools developed to simplify the processes for compliance with this law. February 19, 2007 Alice (or Allen) in MobileLand Cell phones, smartphones, and similar mobile devices are beginning to play an active role in customer relationship management; many of these handheld devices are capable of handling field service and sales, and can make business intelligence available to users. February 12, 2007 A Positioning Process Helps Product Marketing Managers Do More Because product marketing managers constantly juggle competing priorities, companies should consider implementing a formal positioning process as a way of cloning their product marketing managers. Rationale documents and message strategies become vehicles that transfer product knowledge to marketing and sales. February 9, 2007 Can You Hear Me Now: The True Role of Voice-directed Picking in Warehouse Management Although voice-directed picking may take distributors to higher logistics levels someday, operations managers should try listening to their warehouse personnel for now. Warehouse workers are the real experts on a company's warehouse, its product, and its customer. February 2, 2007 Challenges and Future Plans of a Product Inventory Disposition Vendor Despite FreeFlow's success at helping organizations regain some margin of profitability for excess inventory, the company still strives for expansion and improvement as a product inventory disposition vendor, with the aim of meeting international environmental regulations down the track.   December 2007 December 31, 2007 6 Specialists, 6 Industry Domains: Trends for 2008 and 2009 In a survey on upcoming trends in employee management, the Learning Review asked six experts in six major industry domains one simple question: what do you think the main trends in [domain] will be for 2008 and 2009? Here are their answers. December 28, 2007 Your Guide to Enterprise Software Selection:         Part 2 Enterprise software selection is a risky undertaking. Even after you’ve determined your requirements, the crucial software assessment and negotiation phases are potential minefields. Find out how you can reduce the risk involved in choosing a solution that meets your needs. December 26, 2007 Your Guide to Enterprise Software Selection:         Part 1 Enterprise software selection is a risky undertaking for any organization. Find out how you can reduce the risk with a best-practice approach to assessment, evaluation, and selection—and learn how to reduce the time and cost involved in choosing the right solution. December 24, 2007 So What’s the Big Deal with Chemicals? Due to the inherent challenges of the industry, most chemical companies are still unable to profitably respond to highly variable demand, or to execute predictable product supply strategies. December 17, 2007 Software Evaluation and Software Selection Organizations are surrounded by ambiguity when making their implementation decisions. Accurate and relevant criteria that are properly weighed against an enterprise’s needs, what-if scenarios, and supporting graphics and reports are essential when making a software selection. December 14, 2007 SaaS-ing the Manufacturing Opportunity The software as a service (SaaS) delivery model is here to stay, and most vendors have noticed. Recently, the endorsement for SaaS in the realm of manufacturing enterprise resource planning has come from a veteran vendor and SaaS pioneer. December 14, 2007 Bolstering the Call Center with Service Resolution Management Processes Integrated customer relationship management and call center solutions (sometimes referred to as service resolution management) have, despite initial glitches, reportedly helped some service companies realize remarkable returns on investment in addition to improved customer satisfaction rates. December 12, 2007 Knowledge Management: The Core of Service Resolution Management Businesses today need to demonstrate their value to customers by making information that is relevant to them accessible. Hence the need for knowledge management software, which helps companies segment and then distribute the information their customers want to know. December 12, 2007 The Quest for the Right Self-service Model: Enterprise Content Management Suite or Integrated Best-of-breed? Organizations are looking for self-service models to manage their internal and external content. Content management systems are the answer, but then the question becomes which to choose—an all-in-one enterprise content management suite, or an integrated, best-of-breed point solution? December 10, 2007 The Keys to Effective Project Governance Leadership Project Sponsor.com conducted a three-year research program on project governance. The findings turned up some surprising facts on how project governance is approached and applied in businesses today, and shed some light on what is required for project governance to be effective. December 7, 2007 Integrating Customer Relationship Management and Service Resolution Management The business case for integrating call center service resolution management into customer relationship management is becoming increasingly obvious, as companies need to rely more on inbound (customer-generated) calls than on outbound telemarketing efforts. December 4, 2007 Small Merger Challenges and Recommendations to Users The recent merger of enterprise resource planning vendors CMS Software (now known as Solarsoft Business Systems) and XKO Software presents some challenges. Although little overlap exists between the companies’ product lines, customers should verify that pre-merger support and service contracts are honored. December 4, 2007 Data Governance: Controlling Your Organization’s Mission-critical Information Controlling your company’s key information through data governance is more than just good practice—it can make the difference between success and failure at meeting compliance requirements and at arming your organization with a competitive edge. December 3, 2007 The Sweet Spot of One Merging ERP Vendor CMS Software (now known as Solarsoft Business Systems) may not be a huge global player, but its enterprise resource planning solutions address a wide spectrum of supply chain management requirements, including customizable electronic data interchange functions, warehousing, distribution, and traceability features.   November 2007 November 30, 2007 A Quiet ERP Vendor Merger That’s Worth a Closer Look The CMS Software-XKO Software merger into Solarsoft Business Solutions offers proof that smaller enterprise resource planning vendors are not extinct yet. Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, no one should really care about such events, but these less well-known vendors haven’t said their last words yet. November 28, 2007 Are You Tuned into Radio Frequency Identification? This article examines the organizational fit of radio frequency identification (RFID) and its technology’s basic mechanics. Its prohibitive costs often account for the decision to not implement RFID. Yet some factors influencing adoption may shed new light on why RFID is important. November 26, 2007 Quote-to-order Solutions and Key Performance Indicators Providers of complex products, systems, and services should view quote-to-order (Q2O) systems as enablers that can improve competitive advantage. At the same time, users should remember that Q2O solutions are not necessarily advantageous for all manufacturing departments or businesses. November 21, 2007 Why Enterprise Application Search Is Crucial to Your ERP System Enterprise applications become easier to use with the addition of powerful search capabilities. There is a distinction to be made, however, between stand-alone search tools and true enterprise application search that is built into and tightly integrated within an application. November 19, 2007 Quote-to-order: The Major Players in the Manufacturing Arena The latest generation of quote-to-order systems uses knowledge-based software to help reduce an organization’s dependence on its highly skilled experts. The ability to harness a company’s intellectual property and know-how helps build competitive advantage. November 16, 2007 Q2O Systems: Solutions for Quotation Management and Pricing Configuration Quote-to-order systems include quotation management and pricing configuration solutions. Pricing configuration engines automate pricing and quoting processes for manufacturers with complex requirements. Their benefits include quotes that are quick and accurate, leading to increased customer satisfaction. November 14, 2007 The Essential Components of Quote-to-order Application Suites Modern quote-to-order suites provide customers and suppliers access to design, planning, and material data. This enables users to proactively understand various aspects of a project, as well as reduce planning time, document activities, and promote communication throughout the engagement cycle. November 14, 2007 What Does Having a Paperless Office Really Mean? Establishing a paperless office may appear to be a daunting task, but if you understand your operational goals, and if you know what to expect from a paperless system, achieving beneficial results are much easier than you think. November 12, 2007 So, You’re Considering a Paperless Office? The concept of the paperless office has been around for many years, but only recently has this concept been turned into reality. This article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of having a paperless office. November 12, 2007 The Complexities of Quote-to-order and Possible Solutions It is becoming necessary to go beyond the direct sales force to sell complex products. With the advent of personal computers and the Internet, new possibilities for reaching manufacturing clients have opened up, and new sales opportunities have become available. November 5, 2007 Stemming the Loss of Knowledge Capital: A Business Fix for Manufacturers The clock is ticking for manufacturers to come up with a solution to the ongoing loss of knowledge capital. Their best hope lies in introducing knowledge management strategies across the enterprise—before it’s too late. November 2, 2007 Software Selection for Organizations: Are We Becoming Too Web-biased? Web-based software has come of age: it is more robust and stable, and combined with the increased speed of the Internet, businesses have reaped tremendous benefits. Still, Web-based systems may not be the answer for every business.   October 2007 October 26, 2007 The Challenges that Remain for One Aspiring Global Sourcing Vendor In the long term, Eqos’s current stature and means may not be enough to maintain its competitive position against current and potential competitors, especially those with significantly greater financial resources, name recognition, and other resources. October 24, 2007 Social Networks: How They're Turning CRM Upside Down Social networking has collided with customer relationship management, and it's turning the relationship between businesses and their customers upside down. Today, businesses are using social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace or, as is the case with Procter & Gamble, developing their own social networks, to … October 22, 2007 How One Sourcing Vendor's Offerings Are Bolstered by a Wealth of Services Eqos is especially proud of its complementary services portfolio, which stems from a decade's worth of direct experience in providing some of the world's leading retailers with sourcing and supplier management solutions. October 19, 2007 The Secret of One Vendor's Success in the Retail Supply Chain Using the service-oriented architecture concepts of reusability and standards-based interoperability, and based on extensive experience with legacy systems and packaged applications integration, Eqos can deliver pre-configured, cross-enterprise business processes that blend new and legacy functionality into a more coherent process. October 17, 2007 Case Study: Small Retail Chain Gears Up for Rapid Growth Elephant Pharm, a start-up retail chain in the natural health and wellness retail market, needed a software solution to help the company compete with the bigger players in the industry, and to achieve rapid growth. The retailer found the right software with Aldata Solution. October 15, 2007 A Retail Sourcing Suite Built on Experience Eqos's mission is to become the leading provider of global sourcing and supplier management solutions for the retail supply chain worldwide. Today, Eqos supports some of the world's top retailers, hosting thousands of users and enabling their collaboration with as many suppliers. October 12, 2007 One Vendor's Quest to Garner a Global Sourcing Ecosystem Having started as a business-to-business integration provider for a few major retailers in the United Kingdom, Eqos has evolved into a full-fledged, worldwide provider of global sourcing and supplier management solutions. October 5, 2007 QAD: A Software Vendor That Has Survived (if Not Thrived) in the ERP Market QAD, a renowned provider of enterprise software solutions for midsized global manufacturers, has outlived many of its contemporaries by maintaining its stronghold in the discrete and process manufacturing sectors. In doing so, the vendor has reached a respected, veteran status. October 3, 2007 Boosting the Bottom Line with Master Data Management You may not have heard of master data management (MDM), but it can help an organization cut costs while strengthening its sales and marketing efforts. Find out how MDM can help boost your company's bottom line in this latest podcast. October 1, 2007 The Seven Deadly Sins of Software Marketing Huge amounts of money are spent on marketing collateral—you need to ensure that you get your money's worth. This article discusses seven common mistakes made when developing software marketing collateral. Read on to see if you need to repent.   January 2007 January 30, 2007 Zooming into an Inventory Free Flow FreeFlow, a provider of business services with a patented technology, aims to help companies improve product life cycle profitability by providing a unique, online auction platform where companies can reduce their at-risk and excess inventory. January 29, 2007 Is There a Smarter Way to Handle Excess Active and Obsolete Inventory? Imagine the convenience of a 24x7 intranet marketplace where companies could sell off their inventory to the highest bidder. FreeFlow is one such business service provider, helping companies find buyers to sell their products to and increase inventory asset recovery. January 26, 2007 Let the (Excess) Inventory Flow! Because companies focus primarily on new product development and promotion, the problem of excess and obsolete inventory, once addressed, often leads to both the inventory and dollars flying out the door. There should be smarter ways of handling this problem. January 24, 2007 An ERP Vendor, with its Powerful Parent Backing, Tackles Software as a Service Glovia hopes to become a manufacturing service platform that will connect and integrate various business systems that user companies currently use. The vendor's software-as-a-service offering is one of the routes it plans to take to get there. January 22, 2007 A Veteran Enterprise Resource Planning Vendor Makes a SaaS-y Statement Glovia International has launched the first full-fledged and versatile, manufacturing-oriented solution that is an on-demand, enterprise resource planning software-as-a-service application. Its solution is good news for small and medium businesses in more ways than one. January 19, 2007 Supplier Relationship Management: Benefits and Challenges Properly implemented supplier relationship management solutions can help companies overcome some of today's business challenges by allowing them to restructure their supply chains, align business processes, define and establish company-supplier relationships, and integrate information systems to share information with suppliers. January 17, 2007 Vendor Reservations, a Full-fledged SaaS ERP, and User Recommendations Having a system that can support mix-mode manufacturing without the need for artificial constraints would mean that the technology is available to offer on demand manufacturing enterprise resource management to the marketplace. January 15, 2007 Software as a Service's Functional Catch-up Software-as-a-service solutions are emerging to address almost every business application need considered "mission critical" including financials and accounting, asset management, and human capital management applications to supply chain management and channel management solutions. January 12, 2007 Software as a Service: Not without Caveats Software-as-a-service solutions often cannot provide that final twenty percent or so that differentiates a company from its competitors. Of major concern is whether off-premise applications can support complex, global organizations on a constant basis and on strict service level agreements. January 8, 2007 SOA From a Management Perspective:         Part 2 Despite the numerous benefits companies can expect from service-oriented architecture, the technology is still relatively new and implementation costs are steep, raising several concerns. For most companies, a wait-and-see approach is likely the best course of action for now. January 5, 2007 SOA From a Management Perspective:         Part 1 The big buzzword in enterprise-wide package software is service-oriented architecture (SOA). SOA promises to solve a company's software ills, making life easier for information technology departments. This research note takes a look at this new architecture and highlights some concerns. January 3, 2007 Business Intelligence and Identity Recognition—IBM's Entity Analytics IBM's Entity Analytics Solution (EAS) enables organizations to identify and connect individuals based on collected data and their associated data patterns. EAS is used primarily within governments and the financial and insurance sectors to detect and prevent fraud.
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