How BPM Strengthens The Supply Chain

Innovative applications of business performance management software can improve the supply chain by getting reliable information to the right locations quickly.

Electronic negotiations. Real-time updates on suppliers. Just-in-time inventory. Innovative companies with capabilities such as these are ushering in the next generation of supply chain management. And chances are, they're using business performance management (BPM) software to sharpen their visibility into how to make better products, deliver them faster and save money along the way.

As companies expand globally and rely more completely on geographically dispersed partners, vendors and customers, they need to tighten the reins on their supply chain. Quickly getting reliable information to the right locations becomes as important as getting the product where it needs to go. The keys to better supply chain management include more standardized, centralized data; greater collaboration among supply chain members; and tighter integration between supply chain metrics and corporate goals.

According to a recent study by AMR Research, many companies are reevaluating their performance management processes in order to shore up their supply chain. "All performance leaders are focused on KPI [key performance indicator] management as a best practice for their supply chain," says Vinay Asgekar, research director at AMR Research in Irvine, Calif. "It was surprising to us that KPI management was a best practice across a broad range of industries, including automotive, retail, consumer products, heavy equipment and semiconductor."