Groundbreaking Research on ERP versus Best-of-Breed Supply Chain Applications Shows Many Corporate Decisions Processes Flawed, Need for Improvement in Approaches by Both ERP and Best-of-Breed Vendors

Users Rate Best-of-Breed Substantially Higher in Most Areas, While Internal Politics and Lack of Real Facts Hamper Internal Decision Processes

Dayton, OH – With many companies struggling with the issue of selecting ERP or best-of-breed technology vendors, on-line publisher Supply Chain Digest™ announced today the release of two major research reports that provide the most comprehensive look to date at this critical issue. The reports, based on in-depth surveys with 160 leading companies and dozens of one-on-one interviews with corporate decision-makers and other thought leaders, focus separately on Supply Chain Planning and Supply Chain Execution software areas.

Perhaps no other issue is as important right now to both end user companies and supply chain technology providers as the ERP versus best-of-breed wars. SupplyChainDigest’s research reports identify in detail how companies rate ERP versus best-of-breed solutions across both planning and execution, identify the challenges and myths companies face when making this decision, and provide an integrated framework for effectively managing the process.

	By a fairly substantial margin, respondents did rate best-of-breed applications substantially higher than ERP in most functional and value-related categories.
	Many companies are using fundamentally flawed decisions processes, rife with internal politics and often absent clear facts.
	There are exceptions. Some companies, especially those with supply chain/operational ownership of the system decision and a focus on business objectives, have been able to move beyond the politics and make highly informed decisions.
	The “integration” issue for best-of-breed is overrated in many cases.
	Users want both best-of-breed and ERP providers to improve. They want best-of-breed vendors to bring more knowledge about differences with ERP and how those differences really translate into value, while they want ERP providers to bring a lot more supply chain expertise to the table.

Detail on these findings, the complete survey results, and Supply Chain Digest’s decision framework for making the ERP versus best-of-breed decision are all found in the two reports. Both are available at no charge to current or new subscribers to Supply Chain Digest.

Note to editors: Supply Chain Digest’s president Dan Gilmore, lead author of the reports, has detailed and unique insight into this critical question of ERP versus best-of-breed. He is available for interviews to summarize the study findings and his observations.