Nearly three-quarters of warehouse or DC operations plan to upgrade their software packages within the next 12 months, says a survey of Modern Materials Handing and Logistics Managementreaders.

Of the software systems most widely reported to be seeing improvements in 2005, warehouse management systems (WMS) lead the way with almost 30% of respondents planning to add or replace software. Slightly more than 20% are focused on transportation management systems (TMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Supply chain planning is on buying lists for 18% of respondents.

Primary reasons for revamping a WMS include label printing, inventory deployment and real-time control capabilities. For those planning on investing in ERP, 65% indicate that a WMS system will be included in the purchase.

Nearly 70% of respondents with an interest in purchasing supply chain management software, indicate that inventory visibility is their top priority. Nearly 50% report that order management and collaboration are prime factors.

Despite the hefty number of users searching for software solutions in 2005, over half report that the number of supply chain software packages and vendors used in the last two years has remained flat. Yet, only 13% report a decrease in utilized software.

A large portion—43%—of buyers respond that integration of a purchased software solution will be done in-house. Only 21% will rely on a software supplier to install the software and 13% will utilize consulting services.