Supply chains are one of those things that years ago people thought “that’s only something really big companies have to deal with.” That is not the case any and having a well-managed supply chain is all the more critical for medium or small companies that do not have a large margin for error before facing financial ruin. Choosing great supply chain management software is a key component of a well-managed supply chain because of how automated and integrated things have become in the modern era. There are many to choose from and it can be a challenge, but after reading this article we hope you will have the knowledge to findone that will help your company the most.

A good starting point for determining what software is best for you is the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR), which provides a comprehensive overview of the processes, performance metrics, practices, and other functionality needed for your operations. Industry experts say that after companies determine their SCOR, most of them are pointed toward a cloud-based solution as the best option. Cloud solutions are easy to scale and easy to maintain, plus they can be replicated to multiple sites to provide resilience. They also mean basically avoiding the big capital expenses involved in purchasing servers and upgrading hardware for a solution that is not cloud-based.

One of the most important functions of supply chain management software is to help with compliance issues, such as export controls and restricted party screening. There are several points in a supply chain where you need to ensure that your company is playing by the rules. Choosing a software that has checks built into the software to do this automatically means that it will not get forgotten and reduces the risk of human error. While we’re talking about functionality, other key functions to seek out are advanced inventory management, demand planning techniques, and delivery metrics. The larger a role a supply chain plays in your company, the more likely your customers are going to be interested in your metrics so they can know they have a good business relationship with you.

Picking the right software also means it will be able to scale up or down depending on the size of your company. Experts warn companies not to get too bogged down with technology bells and whistles that make it more difficult to manage your supply chain. If you don’t have straightforward, replicable processes in place, then the complexity that comes from adding in software with too many advanced features will actually make the situation chaotic and worse.