Comparison of an Industry
global sales and supply channels. At the same time it has fundamentally changed the customers’ expectations about the visibility of information and the services that the companies need to offer. Global companies need the ability to plan and execute their logistics and activities across all modes of transport, and they require the ability to track and trace both the location and the progress of vital shipments.
Managing customs and compliance regimes globally has also become more efficient, as corporations continue to expand on a global basis, so does the complexity of their activities, they need to understand the different customs regulations, import/export requirements, tariffs, and currency valuation. E-business has aided the industry in this respect as although globalization offers new markets, it can also shrink profits, affect growth potential, and heighten the risks of a misstep. As industry faces these new business dynamics, it must have the tools in place to accurately assess their impact on business.
Shortened product life cycles
The rate of change in industries such as automotive, retail, manufacturing, textile, plastics, paint, chemical, communications and high technology has increased significantly. The industry must keep pace with the evolution of business or they run the risk becoming obsolete. Competition is driving shorter product life cycles and requiring faster speed to the market; as new technologies and products are introduced, the manufacturer must be sure that his plants have a sufficient supply of critical materials, however, at the same time everybody is tightening inventory levels to avoid obsolescence and improve return on invested capital, even across critical materials, making this challenge significant. To effectively manage critical business functions, management must maintain control and be able to act using the tools that e-Business provides for monitoring, alerting, and executing decisions.
Outsourcing of non-core business processes
It is now a trend in the industry that every business should concentrate in their business of expertise. Retailers are being told to focus on merchandising, manufacturers to focus on assembly, and consumer electronics companies to focus on innovation. While many companies have developed competencies in many fields, they are quickly learning that many cost and business process efficiencies can come from outsourcing these non-core functions to a third party provider. The challenge is that this outsourcing comes with an expectation that the service provider will learn the intricacies of their business and, in turn, create significant business value. The growing role of eCommerce in third party logistics is the ability to track and trace via the internet.
Today, technology is transforming the customer – provider relationship, and the way in which customers buy and providers sell. In this environment, e-Business readiness is a prerequisite for success and managing that global network via the internet is an imperative necessity.
In the transportation industry, providers face serious business issues, including globalization, managing diverse customs and compliance regimes, and coping with shortened product life cycles. There is a clear need to outsource non-core business processes and functions, and harnessing the power of eCommerce. The fact is that these same challenges offer [next page]