Information management: More important than ever
Bob Trebilcock -- Modern Materials Handling, 9/1/2004
Information technology companies, including those that offer supply chain software systems like warehouse management systems, have been battered over the last few years.
But that doesn’t mean supply chain managers have decided to do without information technology. To the contrary, manufacturing and distribution professionals view information management systems as more important in the near future than new materials handling equipment and systems.
That's one of the findings of a syndicated research survey of Modern Materials Handling (/) readers.
When readers were asked whether information technology or materials handling systems would be more important in accomplishing their goals over the next two to three years, 59% of respondents chose information management. Forty-one percent said that materials handling equipment and systems were a higher priority.
That may come as a surprise. After all, few can imagine trying to manage plants or warehouses without conveyors or lift trucks. Yet information technology is essential to meeting the demands for continual cost reductions, lower inventory levels, higher order accuracy rates, and increasing customer demands.
But when you factor in the looming RFID mandates from the Department of Defense, Wal-Mart, the pharmaceutical industry, and other major retailers, the response makes sense. To say the least, information management systems are certainly top of mind for many.
What's more, Modern's readers are investing, or plan to invest, in a wide variety of areas.
Over the next two to three years, 45% of respondents plan to invest in software for warehousing. Meanwhile, 34% plan to invest in software for supply chain planning and 28% expect to improve their manufacturing IT systems.
Data collection also looms large, with 43% of respondents planning to invest in RFID. But that doesn’t mean bar codes or other auto identification technologies are going away: 46% plan on investing in bar code scanning systems, 21% are targeting voice recognition technology, and 38% are looking at printers and wireless terminals.
These are just some of the findings that will be presented during Modern Materials Handling’s “The State of Materials Handling, Manufacturing, Warehousing and Distribution,” keynote at the 2004 Global Supply Chain Conference. (In addition, survey results will be published in December in a special supplement to Modern Materials Handling.
The “virtual” conference will be presented online October 20 and 21. It is sponsored by Modern Materials Handling, Supply Chain Management Review, and Logistics Management. Attendees will be able to explore the full spectrum of supply chain management, from setting and executing global supply chain strategies to creating a world-class materials handling environment, from their desk-top computers.
For more information about the Global Supply Chain Conference, visit www.scmr.com/gscc.
Pre-registration is required at gscc04.unisfair.com/index.jsp.
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