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- IBM Rolls Out First Inventory Management Offering For SMBs
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- SMBs IT Investments Grow But Largely In Mainstream Technologies
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July 12, 2005 | Comments: (0)
IBM Rolls Out First Inventory Management Offering For SMBs
Hoping to reduce the costs typically associated with inventory excesses or shortages, IBM on Tuesday unwrapped its first inventory management offering for SMBs that can help them predetermine how much inventory to keep on hand at any given time.
Called the IBM Express Services for Inventory Management, the new offering allows smaller companies create a more customized on demand environment to help them respond more quickly to sometimes rapidly changing user demands, according to company officials.
One of the ongoing challenges facing SMB supply chain organizations is striking the right balance between excess inventory and order fulfillment shortfalls. Typically most inventory targets are determined by rough estimates and usually do no take into account the dynamic nature of various product lifecycles and customer preferences. When SMBs fail to anticipate correctly, they have to bear the costs of excess inventory or face order fulfillment delays.
"Our supply chain consists of hundreds of customers and suppliers, as well as 12 manufacturing plants and distribution centers. If our inventory targets are inaccurate, or if our supply chain isn't flexible enough to accommodate last minute change orders, the costs can be devastating," said John D. Hall, director, supply chain systems NIBCO.
Hall added that IBM's product has helped reduce his target inventory levels by 13 per cent.
"This is the type of cost reduction that immediately impacts the bottom line," Hall said.
Express Services for Inventory Management works with SAP's Netweaver BI that implements inventory-control algorithms developed by IBM Research. This combination can serve to reduce inventories significantly but at the same time improve SMBs responsiveness to both customers and business partners, IBM officials claimed.
The new offering includes a Solution Toolkit that is intended to make installation of the software easier as well as "expedite time to value," with preconfigured algorithms, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), inventory management reports and data extractors, company officials said.
More information about the product and service is available at www.ibm.com.
Posted by Ed Scannell on July 12, 2005 08:06 AM
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