There's a shift underway in how leading companies manage their supply chains. Where planning software was once considered to be at the heart of supply chain strategies, execution software is "starting to take on strategic implications," according to Deepak Raghavan, senior vice president of products and strategy at Manhattan Associates (www.manh.com).

This is due to execution software's ability to affect a company's financial strategies by increasing sales and fill rates while decreasing supply chain costs, he explained in an interview with Modern Materials Handling.

One factor in the growing importance of execution software is its increasing reach beyond the four walls of the warehouse, he explained. One example is the enhanced functionality of Manhattan's yard management software, which augments its warehouse management package. This new functionality, available next month, allows the user to manage inventory and orders even before the formal receiving process begins at the dock door, said Raghavan.

Features of the software include real-time tracking of trailers, tractors and carriers in the distribution center's (DC) yard. The technology lets users know when a trailer has arrived and what its contents are.

"At the end of the day, this new functionality allows users to get their orders out of the DC quicker and more efficiently," said Raghavan.