Spend analytic projects are often driven to meet key goals of the chief procurement officer and procurement organization, chiefly cost savings. However, there are also many different possible uses or goals for spend analytic tools and projects, which might be driven by other executives or offices as well.
Since today's global business structures are bigger than the enterprise, we are bombarded by the power of social networking for the enterprise. But with several mega-enterprise software firms clearly committed to incorporating social networking into their solutions, the question is - isn't it time to abandon ERP in favor of a new solution? A new platform? A new software category for business? Or is enterprise social networking an element of the enterprise-ERP-package?
Most companies today are heavily outsourced and have suppliers spread out across the globe. Yet firms' knowledge of their suppliers and the environments they operate in is often limited and out-of-date, crippling their ability to successfully manage the dynamics of their supply base. This has introduced substantially more risk in global businesses.
The first and most obvious reason most people want to analyze spend is to find savings opportunities; figure out how to spend less and spend more wisely.
The data explosion: so much to look at, so much to sift through! We are so fascinated with big! Big boats, big cigars and big shoes. But what, really, is big data? What does it mean to your business? And how can you or should you manage it? Although adoption of the buzz word is new, the management of big data is not.
There has been enough hype about mobile shopping in general and mobile coupons in particular that you could easily be forgiven if you thought coupons and loyalty cards on mobile phones were a done deal, already available and in use today. The elephant in the room is that the bright clean crisp barcode image you see displayed on your smartphone's screen cannot be read by the majority of barcode scanners used in retail today.
The last two years have brought an explosion of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. Both new app players and traditional enterprise software license providers have provided new versions of their software and services to ensure a market presence in the cloud delivery model. Along with this change we have witnessed new models in pricing strategies. The problem is that it is very hard to compare pricing - not just between the competitors - but also for same-company cloud vs. on-premise options.
Analyst Insight: There are many flavors of supplier networks. And switching costs, especially on the buyers' side, can be high - because these are solutions, not just networks. For these reasons, we will not see the consolidation of supplier networks to nearly the same extent that we see for other types of networks. - Bill McBeath, chief research officer, ChainLink Research
Analyst Insight: Our research finds that very few companies have a good handle on supply chain risk. The dynamic nature of trading partner relationships, the depth and global footprint of multi-tier supply networks, and many other factors make building a resilient supply chain very difficult. However, those that manage supply chain risk well can gain market share when the inevitable disruptions occur, impacting their competitors. - Bill McBeath, chief research officer, ChainLink Research
Analyst Insight: Retailers in 2012 will continue to implement analytic engines. The last two years have seen retailers and CPG companies streamline and rethink their multichannel and merchandising strategies. Improved performance is a reflection of this analytics focus. In 2012, retailers will learn through direct customer engagement through mobile, social and web (omni-channel information) to create products, and market to customers based on shopper insights. - Ann Grackin, CEO, ChainLink Research
