The market for what's termed supply chain automation (SCA) applications, such as truck-route planning software, will nearly triple by 2006, growing to $24 billion from $8.5 billion in 2001.
According to IDC, a Framingham, MA-based consulting firm, a variety of industries now recognizes the potential benefits of better supply chain visibility. Those benefits include improved demand forecasting, business planning, and better internal and external collaboration, which are skills needed by companies as they struggle to adjust supplies and manufacturing planning to a highly volatile market environment, said Gisela Wilson, director in IDC's enterprise applications research department.
At this point, she said, supply chain software users are primarily interested in tactical solutions that promise rapid return on investment and are not very receptive to complex strategic solutions with lengthy implementation times.
