THE SELECTION PROCESS
Software Selection
The challenge for business
is to pick the right
technologies
at the right time. APS
technologies due to their
complexities
require careful
investigation in three
areas: The
user clearly needs to define
the functionality for
today's
problem and how it may be
extended in the future.
Next,
the functionality should be
evaluated for it s fit to
the
unique idiosyncrasies of the
particular business and the
their physical supply chain
attributes. Finally, they
should understand the degree
to which the APS automates
the intended task. All APS
tools are not equal there
are vast differences between
them. Their high cost introduces
that much more risk. The
only way to combat
the inherent risk is to
carefully study the problem
and
understand the available
technologies.
Another consideration is the
difficulty in implementing
APS. At least for the
foreseeable future, APS
tools
require more than average
maintenance and a high
degree of skill. The cost
of maintenance will be high,
so factor this into the
decision when selecting APS
technologies. I do not
question the value of APS,
only the continuing desire
of business to provide
adequate support
for these tools.
WHAT AND WHEN TO AUTOMATE
Integrated Decisions
There is no point in
automating garbage. Poor
data or a poorly define
business model will just
lead to the APS model moving
garbage faster.
Automating a business
process with APS should be
done as part of the overall
planning process. Look at
each of the tactical
planning steps and ensure
that the
integration between the
functions is understood.
Highly
integrated functions should
be built into one model and
simultaneously solved. APS
models can be built as
standalone,
onetime models or to be
periodically used as part
of the planning
process. The former case
gets your feet
wet, understanding the value
of such models. My recommendation
is to construct as many
models as possible
that are part of a
disciplined planning
process.
Architecture
When the models are made
part of a critical business
decision-making process, the
maximum value will be
derived from the investment
and there will be no question
about the degree of support
required. Further, one
data model has
evolved that provides the
necessary access
to internal and external
data—a
central database
acts as a hub between the
decision support models and
the ERP/legacy business
systems.
Integrated Decisions
Positioning APS models
within all the layers of
planning
with greater visibility over
the entire supply chain is a
necessary evolution to
business decision-making.
The
time requirements and
complexity make this an
obvious
conclusion for companies
that have a good business
model and know they need to
constantly test it.