Analyst Insight: As of 2010, the traditional relationship between supply chain and business is in full revolution, and global supply chain management has become more important than ever. The roles of supply chain and manufacturing within organizations continue to evolve, making it clear that manufacturing should be reporting to supply chain, instead of the other way around.

Analyst Insight: The automotive industry has one of the most complex supply chains, upstream (hundreds of part and accessory suppliers) and downstream (thousands of car dealers, repair shops, etc). Most, if not all, automotive manufacturers use different software systems in different locations, but even at the same location, for different purposes. Often, these systems are old or incompatible, which makes integration difficult.

Analyst Insight: SaaS and new enterprise software offerings have created a new dynamic for enterprise software selection as opposed to traditional software selection. The cloud evaluation process for software and services must consist of different and a more focused approach, including such factors as importance of methodology, model differentiation, industry-specific expertise and total cost of ownership.

Analyst Insight: With broad and expandable carrier networks, outsourced service providers seem well positioned to either make educated decisions as a provider of outsourced carrier selection services or to serve as an educator of shippers, to inform them of available options and potentially provide competitive performance information.