'SMEs Need A Shrink Wrapped SCM Solution'

Raghunath Mahalingam, senior vice president, Enterprise Application Solutions, Patni, speaks to Biztech2.com about the SCM focus of the SME segment.

What has been happening in the SCM space in the past one year?

Most organisations have made huge investments in SCM both within and without and are trying to manage the same currently. Enterprises are looking to improve the operating cash flow as of now. There is a big cash lockdown in the market; verticals that are optimally utilising SCM solutions at this point are automobile and retail. SCM solutions that will work are probably those that offer an opportunity to rationalise the cost and investment made. The key words here are rationalisation and optimisation.

Surveys indicate that SCM is increasingly becoming a priority. What do you think has changed in vendor offerings?

The solutions that were offered earlier took too much time to implement and were also complex. Of late, vendors have started focusing on collaboration and easy-to-implement solutions. They are also reasonably priced and can be implemented within a time span of six months.

More from Biztech

What is happening in the SME space with regard to SCM?

SME-focused solutions should encapsulate features such as low cost and less complexity. In other words, it should be a shrink-and-wrap solution. Options such as subscription, leasing and deals with system integrators will appeal to this segment. There are now a host of attractive SCM packages that are being created for the SME segment, and therefore there has been an increase in adoption of SCM solutions. The good thing about collaboration technologies is that they put suppliers in the same loop as clients, thus, it’s an exciting market overall to be in.

As SLAs are an integral part of SCM, which factors do you think should be kept in mind while drawing up an SLA?

Different strategies have to be followed depending on the size of the business. For the SME segment, the solution has to be offered as a shrink-wrap product, which is simple to use and operate. For large enterprises, it should be possible to implement the product within 3-6 months, keeping in mind the fact that these enterprises are more IT savvy.

Again for SMEs, a go-to-market strategy should be adopted, while also working in tandem with channel partners. Vendors must opt for multiple channels to increase reach and also simplify solutions for further penetration.

What trends do you see in this space?

I see collaboration gaining considerable traction. Also, the trend of building layers on top of a standard layer is catching on, in addition to tracking inventory for demand. In today’s times, there is a huge opportunity for developing solutions.

Can you share statistics about ERP implementation in India? How far behind or far ahead are we?

For a very long time, local ERP solutions had a big footprint in India. However, in the last five to seven years, the deployment of solutions from big players has increased significantly, as these established vendors have targeted MNCs, leading to the emergence of a global ERP landscape. APAC is one of the biggest markets for core ERP licences with India having the largest share on this front. Even mid-market ERP solutions are witnessing growth here.