The Ledger

Digital Supply Chains Never Stop – Especially During Thanksgiving!

Business and supply chains play a large role in most of the things we do, including holidays. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and while the holiday focuses on family, food, and giving thanks, a tremendous amount of commercial activity goes on behind the scene to make it happen.

“According to one survey, the average consumer spent $165.14 on Thanksgiving tidings last year. You might think the biggest expense is food, but in fact, travel tops the list. More than 46.3 million Americans travel 50 miles or more to join their families, most by car. With Americans spending an average of $67.59 on Thanksgiving Day travel, this category grabs 41% of the spending pie.”

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP>

Will Your Finance Systems Be Obsolete in 2019?

“Implementing ERP like it’s 1999 didn’t work then — and it’s definitely not working now.”

Too many companies have jumped blindly into their ERP implementations without a clear plan or organization. Traditional ERP implementations will continue to fade in 2019. More forward-leaning organizations are finding success focusing on true digital transformations. Instead of assuming that a single software solution or single vendor can deliver the breakthrough capabilities required for the future, more companies are finding value in integrating multiple systems to gain stronger insights into their business. The key to effective implementations is starting out with a clear digital strategy to help navigate through the options and find a solution best fit for the organization’s needs.

Read More at CFO Magazine >

Your Legacy Supply Chain Systems Are Costing Your Business More Than You Think

Companies still running on legacy, on-premises supply chain technologies are stuck in that linear model and losing their competitive edge faster than they realize. The supply chain model has transitioned from very supply-driven to an end-to-end process that starts with the customer. The focus is now what the customers want and being agile enough to quickly meet the demand. However, shifting to a new business model requires changes to not only the technology being used, but also to the business processes.

Read More at Forbes Magazine Online >

Finding a Place For Artificial Intelligence in FP&A

The term “artificial intelligence (AI)” is used so frequently in this day and age that it is often misconstrued because it is leveraged enterprise-wide by different departments for different things. For FP&A, AI is the automation of actions based on analysis of available data in order to mimic the way a person would make a decision. Human’s make decisions based on their data, but their decisions are always influenced by human nature (bias, experience, etc.). The whole purpose of AI is not to replace humans, but to be used as another tool that can help management teams clarify their thinking and make better-informed decisions.

Read More at The Digitalist by SAP >