Cloud Computing in Scm

“There’s Power in the Cloud”

by Bridget McCrea, Contributing Editor

from Logistics Management March 2011

In today’s fast-moving business environment, most companies are striving to operate a more dynamic supply chain to respond to rising volatility in customer demands and market conditions. Because supply chains are increasingly powered by information technology, flexible IT-based solutions are an increasingly important part of a supply chain design. Against this background, it is no surprise that the topic of “cloud computing” is generating intense interest.

This highly informative article about cloud computing, also known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), discusses the positive and negative attributes associated with this promising new technology.

The top selling points for SaaS include lower capital expenditures, minimal implementation time, and a significant reduction in the amount of information technology infrastructure (people and equipment) necessary for a company to operate optimally.

SaaS has already caused a significant change in the evolution of supply chain management (SCM) software.

According to Thomas Schramm, managing director in Accenture’s SCM practice, the 4 key processes best suited to cloud computing include:

Planning and Forecasting. Cloud-based tools are now available for capturing itemized spend data, performing basic analytics, planning manufacturing runs, and executing statistical demand forecasts. Applications focused solely on retail supply chains are also prevalent, with capabilities that include planning and allocation, assortment and space, pricing and promotion, and forecasting and replenishment. In the near future, many more cloud service providers will add planning and forecasting applications to their offering.

Logistics. Some warehouse and transportation management applications are currently available online from cloud providers. Cloud computing applications for functions such as network...