THE BUSINESS REVIEW FOR PROCUREMENT LEADERS
Unlike many companies, the US carrier Delta Air Lines enjoys a single installation of its SAP enterprise resource planning system and operates it right across the business. Yet for spend data analysis it runs so-called “best-of-breed” software from Verticalnet.
The ERP versus best-of-breed solution debate is very much alive and well. Although the former has clear advantages from an IT perspective, in terms of better integration and single-vendor accountability, best-of-breed typically offers deeper functionality, particularly in procurement and supply chain management terms.
ERP leaders SAP and Oracle have been busy fighting back with improved functionality in recent years, yet best-of-breed vendors claim they still offer faster implementation, lower prices and compatibility with a wider variety of data sources.
Like Delta, HJ Heinz’s European operations have opted for non-SAP software (in this case, Ariba) to gain visibility of direct and indirect procurement data; while Bayer Corporation in the US is using tools from SmartOps to better manage its inventory. “Waiting three or four years for the required functionality to evolve [within an ERP infrastructure] isn’t an option,” notes Bayer’s former CPO, Robert Rudski.
Read the full text
of this article
