The supply chain management (SCM) software market is on the rise. SCM market revenue grew 13.9 per cent last year to $12.2 billion.
This is according to figures from research firm Gartner. According to research director Balaji Abbabatulla, the growth shows that SCM technologies are increasingly an essential component in digital business strategies. "SCM technologies create digital value by optimising the flow of products and services from source to customer and from customer to source."
Top five vendors
SAP, Oracle, Infor, JDA and Manhattan Associates were the top five vendors in the SCM market in 2017. All these five vendors recorded revenue growth. Only JDA and Infor grew faster than the overall market. Interestingly, the smaller vendors grew faster than the top five established market players in 2017.
Cloud solutions
"SCM players with smaller cloud activity experienced an average revenue growth of 41.4 per cent in 2017. The top five vendors are defending their market share by pivoting to cloud-first strategies and rapidly introducing new products through development, acquisition or partnerships on their cloud platform."
Gartner believes software in the cloud market is providing a boost, especially as midsize organisations embrace it. "Cloud solutions typically have fewer barriers to entry and are more easily scalable, and are therefore better suited for midsize organisations that view SCM as a competitive advantage," Abbabatulla said. "We expect vendors offering a well-defined strategy for midsize organisations to grow rapidly over the next five years."
