BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Inventory Optimization (IO) has emerged as a top supply chain priority as companies seek to fulfill customer demand and not lose out on opportunities. Beyond the high-profile retail battle for e-commerce, IO has become strategic for manufacturing, logistics and even service companies.
The 2018 IO Value Matrix from Nucleus Research finds Leaders focusing on tools that minimize unnecessary stock across the value chain and reduce manual resources needed to manage inventory. Those Leaders are: E2open, GAINSystems, JDA Software, One Network, ToolsGroup and Vanguard.
“Wall Street’s reaction to WalMart’s recent struggles in maintaining inventory levels during December’s holiday period underscores the importance of Inventory Optimization technology. Companies need to get smarter to understand demand and be better prepared to meet it. That requires automation and better ways to predict that demand,” said Ian Campbell, CEO of Nucleus Research.
The trend in IO is moving quickly towards connecting planning tools more closely with point-of-sale (POS) data and similar demand indicators to enable better response rates as close to real-time as possible that reverberate down the supply chain. This can help to alleviate risk to buyers, even with longer lead times stretching into weeks or months through improved predictive machine-learning algorithms.
“Inventory optimization is the new frontier in the battle for retailers. Businesses that have the products their customers want in stock and on time are able to gain competitive advantage over those who struggle to maintain inventory levels. These capabilities also give a more holistic view of the supply chain network, providing great value and ultimately making customers happy by having what they want on hand when they need it without missing a beat,” said Seth Lippincott, principal analyst at Nucleus Research.
See the full report at: https://nucleusresearch.com/research/single/io-technology-value-matrix-2018/
About Nucleus Research
Nucleus Research is a global provider of investigative, case-based technology research and advisory services. We deliver the numbers that drive business decisions. For more information, visit NucleusResearch.com or follow us on Twitter @NucleusResearch.
