GXS Insights

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• Insights Index
• 1st Edition: Inside SaaS 2.0
• 2nd Edition: Navigating Cross Border Business Boundaries
• 3rd Edition: How to Increase ERP Success with B2B Integration
• 4th Edition: Enhancing Customer-Centric Supply Chains

Explore SaaS Benefits for the Small and Medium-Sized Business

By Mark Morley, Industry Marketing Director, GXS

Just as SaaS is being used to link geographically dispersed offices around the globe, it can also be used to connect supply chain partners around the world. Most large retailers and manufacturers have extensive networks of trading partners who provide a variety of functions in their value chain. Examples include direct suppliers, corporate customers, international distributors, logistics providers, financial institutions and trade insurers.

In any supply chain, the community of trading partners needs to exchange information such as forecasts, orders, shipments, invoices and payments with one another. Supply chain efficiency is often directly linked to the ability of trading partners to exchange information with one another quickly and easily. E-commerce technologies are utilised extensively in today’s global supply chain to enable the exchange of information electronically. However, challenges often limit the use of the technologies, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.

For a trading partner to conduct e-commerce with other parties in the supply chain, B2B software needs to be licensed, installed and configured. Many smaller trading partners lack the budget, experience or resources to implement an e-commerce solution. By numbers, small businesses often represent a significant percentage of a supply chain community. As a result, many supply chains suffer from only a small percentage of the trading partners being able to communicate electronically. SaaS environments offer the potential to dramatically increase the levels of participation in e-commerce initiatives by offering a simplified process for small trading partners.   With SaaS there is no need for small trading partners to install and manage e-commerce applications. If the supplier has access to a PC connected to the Internet then they can quickly enroll in a SaaS-based e-commerce application.