ERP Supply Chain Planning Tools: The Path to High Performance

ERP-based advanced supply chain planning tools offer the promise of significant business benefits, but the achievement of those benefits relies on the way the technology is implemented and managed. These tools often require new ways of working, and that in turn requires a business-oriented approach to implementation — one that takes into account the people, processes and strategies involved, as well as the technology itself.

This kind of business transformation is not easy; it clearly requires hard work. But it can be worthwhile. By understanding and using the key practices described above, companies can put themselves in position to take full advantage of today's sophisticated planning technologies and use them to support higher levels of business performance.

About the Author: James Hughes (james.h.hughes@accenture.com) is an executive in Accenture's Chemicals industry group. He specializes in large scale global supply chain transformations and is based out of Basel, Switzerland.