How quickly does your company expect to see a complete payback for supply chain software? According to a recent survey of readers by Modern Materials Handling, 43% expect payback in a year or less. Another 35% expect it to happen in 12–18 months. And less than a quarter of respondents say more than 18 months payback is acceptable.

And even with the recent slowdown in software sales, 43% have increased the number of supply chain software packages they own in the past two years. Meanwhile, two-thirds say their reliance on supply chain software has increased in the same time. The two most used packages are enterprise resource planning and warehouse management systems.