Assembling the information need to feed the SCM applications from legacy systems can be tedious as it is difficult to get that information flowing on a fast, reliable basis from all the areas of an organization. An ERP system integrates all that information together in a single application and SCM applications benefit from having a single major source to go for up-to-date information.
Majority of the management people who have tried to install SCM applications say they are glad they did ERP first. They term the ERP projects making your information house in order. Now most ERP solution providers have SCM modules so doing an ERP project may be a way to have these both in one go. What the organizations must do is that they must evaluate whether these applications meet their needs.
Many times software applications that automate the logistics aspects of SCM do not gather information from around the company, so they tend to be independent of the ERP decision. But it is better to have these applications communicate with ERP in some fashion. It’s also important to pay attention to the software’s ability to integrate with the Internet and with ERP applications because the Internet will drive demand for integrated information.
