The Top 5 Supply Chain Management Software Choices

Are you struggling to manage your supply chain? Do you want to find ways to help optimize your inventory levels and gain visibility into supply costs? Maybe you want to accurately forecast future demands for your entire supply chain.

Whatever it is that you’re looking for, managing your supply chain has never been easier. There are tons of supply chain management software out there that can help you meet customer demand and become more agile in your business. But how do you know which software choice will work best or offer the right tools for your supply chain operation?

Let’s take a look at some of the best supply chain management software out there.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

What Is Supply Chain Management?

The Best Supply Chain Management Software Options

Key Takeaways

What Is Supply Chain Management?

Before getting too far into the software choices, let’s first look into exactly what supply chain management is and how it works.

Basically, supply chain management is the way that you are able to manage the flow of your goods, finances and data. This is in relation to a product or service and it starts at the procurement of raw materials. It ends once the driver of the product or service reaches your customer.

The best supply chain systems offer material handling, order fulfilment and information tracking. Which can include manufacturers, suppliers and wholesalers. Plus, it can also include retailers, logistics providers and transportation.

Some businesses are going to have different supply chain processes and supply networks compared to others. But a typical supply chain could include the following activities:

• Procurement
• Product lifecycle management
• Supply chain planning, which includes inventory planning and maintaining assets
• Logistics, which includes fleet management and transportation
• Order management

The Best Supply Chain Management Software Options

Here is a breakdown of the top 5 supply chain management systems for your business. Some options are going to offer different features and capabilities. So it’s important to make sure that you choose software that will suit your business needs.

1. SAP SCM

SAP SCM is an end-to-end supply chain management software. It offers extensive capabilities and features designed for businesses that manufacture complex products. Some of these products could include aircraft, industrial machinery, cars and electronics.

The platform also provides a ton of customization options so you can tailor it to your exact business needs. This can come in handy if you’re trying to digitize your manufacturing and business processes.

Here are some of the main features that come with SAP SCM.

• Analyze and track your manufacturing performance at the local and global level
• Improve visibility by gathering data from your manufacturing systems
• Obtain continuous improvement by leveraging machine learning and advanced algorithms
• Minimize downtime by optimizing the use of manufacturing resources
• Quickly and easily resolve any quality and productivity issues

2. Anvyl

Anvyl is a supply chain relationships management (SCRM) platform that’s cloud-based, meaning you can use it from anywhere. There are collaboration and automation features to increase output and optimize your processes.

The platform is simple to use and it can scale with your business as you grow. This makes it a great choice for small business owners of any size since you might not know how big your business will become. Understanding how your business will grow can improve customer satisfaction and demand forecasting.

Here are some of the features that come with the Basic Plan.

• Automated check-ins with suppliers to help track progress
• Collaboration and file sharing becomes easier with the supplier portal
• You get full API access to help create a fully customized solution
• It offers a supplier directory and a parts library
• Makes it easy to issue, clone and manage purchase orders

3. Magaya

Magaya was designed for freight forwarders, logistics firms and importing and exporting businesses. You’re able to use the software to optimize and centralize all your operations. And it offers real-time tracking, compliance and rate management to help streamline your processes.

It doesn’t require any maintenance since it’s a cloud-based solution, which makes it very easy to implement. And, you can access your data from anywhere since it has a user-friendly interface.

Here are some of the most common add-ons you can include with the cloud-based software.

• Photo capturing, which allows you to send photos directly to your system within seconds
• Full warehouse automation for cargo weight, photos and dimensions
• Ocean, courier and air integrations with companies such as UPS and FedEx
• An accounting automation feature to sync customer billing data
• A mobile app that offers visibility, service and tracking for your customers

4. ArrowStream

ArrowStream is an industry-specific supply chain management software. It can be a perfect choice for fast food chains or other restaurants, and it also works well for suppliers and food distributors of any size. You can have better supply planning, more efficient supplier management and get supply chain analytics.

They pride themselves in understanding the unique challenges that come with what you do. The app combines tools to help create a customized supply chain management solution. Plus, they have a database of our 7,500 foodservice suppliers that you can connect with.

Here are some of the solutions that ArrowStream offers.

• Contract price auditing
• Quality incident management
• Strategic sourcing and supply chain visibility
• Collaboration tools
• Rapid-deployment inventory management
• Inbound logistics optimization

5. Logility

Are you finding that you have extra stock just sitting on your shelves or in your warehouses? If that’s the case, it can negatively impact your profits. Logility makes it simple to respond to evolving customer demands. It also makes it easy to respond to changes in the market and emerging global competition.

It’s powered by artificial intelligence to help you manage dynamic product demand. This lets you create a much better customer experience regardless of where your business is located.

Here are a few of the main features you get access to with Logility.

• It helps you to streamline new products into the market, including having real-time visibility
• You can create service-based triggers so you never run out of inventory
• You’re able to strategically optimize inventory to achieve better distribution
• It allows you to manage demand variability and seasonal volume changes

Key Takeaways

Gone are the days where supply chain management software is only used by large businesses and enterprises. Cloud-based options and innovative technology have made software accessible for a business of any size. Which makes it easier to manage your supply chain network and sustain business growth.

You could operate a local restaurant that wants to source better ingredients for a lower cost. You might even be a mass manufacturer that takes on highly complex projects. Or, you might be somewhere in between.

Supply chain management software can help your business operations become streamlined. You can identify any issues in your processes and make adjustments where you need to.

The main thing to keep in mind when looking into a supply chain software solution is to make sure it offers the right capabilities for your business. Anvyl is a great option for any type of business. Magaya is better suited for businesses in logistics or transportation management.

SAP SCM is a great choice for businesses that are involved in manufacturing complex projects. And Logility is an excellent option if you’re in the foodservice industry.

Supply chain software will help with order fulfilment, information tracking and material handling. You can remove or limit any processes that aren’t helping your business and build off of the ones that are. Your supply chain management processes will become more streamlined as a result.

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