Many times in the day-to-day or in the day-to-day of our organizations we realize that there are tasks or processes that we could be doing better, either because we are spending too much time on repetitive tasks that do not generate value, because we have multiple systems and we must copy or share information manually between them, or simply because we have multiple systems and we have to copy or share information manually between them, the Supply and Treasury chain often does not behave as a 'relay race'. between the players involved, but rather as isolated processes, which does not allow for a simple and fluid process.
It is at that moment when we decide to support our management on a technological tool in search of generating savings, both in negotiations and in working capital, but with so many options in the market, which one should I choose? Which one best suits my needs? Which part of the process do I want to automate first? What resources do I have available to invest in a technological solution? Faced with this need, companies will have two options: develop their own tool or hire an existing one, each of the options has its points in favor and to take into account.
What should be taken into account?
If a company decides to develop customized software you will have a tool based and grounded in your process and your specific business rules.However, all costs related to the operation and maintenance of the solution will be borne by the company, some of the main costs will be: technological instance where the solution is hosted (whether own servers, Onpremise or cloud host), file server and databases where the information will persist, maintenance costs of the solution and any costs associated with integrations or constant evolution of the tool.
On the other hand, we will find pre-built tools that can be hired and adopted by companies, such as Suplos.
Pre-built solutions
Pre-built solutions will allow us to have shorter implementation times, in addition to handling models such as SaaS (Software as a Service) where the customer, as with traditional streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime video), will have a fee subscription. This will allow you to enjoy the modules or solutions contracted. without incurring hidden or additional costs.
Although these tools were not built based on the client's own business rules and processes, they include the best practices present in the market and offer a percentage of customization on the tool in order to adapt the existing tool to the client's reality and needs.
One of the main advantages of pre-built tools is that, as they are modular solutions, they can be used in a wide range of applications. will allow us to narrow down projects and solutions to meet specific needs. The system allows partial implementations and the addition of new modules to the suite at the desired time, in order to share information both between the modules included in the suite and with external systems.
Regardless of the strategy adopted by companies, it is necessary to leverage our supply chain on technology in order to achieve more efficient, fluid and transparent processes, allowing us to delegate tasks on technology. In this way, our teams will make technology work for them. There is no magic formula, so we must prioritize our needs in order to initiate a structured incremental digital transformation plan.
