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InformationWeek - Manhasset,NY,USA
For this Aberdeen Group Insight report, Aberdeen conducted a research
survey on inventory management technology adoption and ROI in January and
February ...

Overview
Many distributors are seeking more effective ways to manage their inventory. Traditional inventory management practices have been rendered obsolete by increasing global
supply chains, more dynamic product life cycles, and multi-channel distribution. For this Aberdeen Group Insight report, Aberdeen conducted a research survey on inventory management technology adoption and ROI in January and February 2007 across 55 distribution companies. This study confirmed that inventory management processes and technologies are being actively re-evaluated by companies today. The majority of respondents say they have made or been asked to provide recommendations in the past six months to management on how to improve their inventory management technology.

While most distributors are still looking at inventory as a cost-related item, 25% of companies are thinking of inventory as a way of gaining market share through superior service and product availability.

Aberdeen found that visionary companies are leveraging their inventory as a competitive weapon and have moved to network-based inventory management versus doing it a facility or company level. They use inventory to optimally position supply when and where it is most needed and most profitable. By performing segmentation of their customer channels and products, these companies are able to attain significantly higher return on assets than their competitors.




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