Social networking as supply chain enabler

Would embedding features like chat, wikis and instant messaging into ERP offer significant benefits? New reseach suggests that it might.

A study of more than 260 manufacturing executives released today by IFS North America indicates how trends in Enterprise 2.0 will affect enterprise software used by mid- to large-sized manufacturers and industrial companies.

Interest in Enterprise 2.0, which marries enterprise resources planning (ERP) with social media functionality is real, but study data suggest that integration of ERP with existing social media tools available online is of limited value. Instead, executives saw more value in ERP that mirrored the functionality of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook in order to streamline internal communication.

The study of manufacturing executives with mid- to large-sized companies was conducted for IFS North America by Boston-based Affinity Research Group.

According to researchers, the ability to integrate with external social media tools on the public internet does not weigh heavily on the selection process for ERP. However, the adoption of social media functions to include collaborative and communication capabilities is viewed with importance, but is not seen as a major influencer.

The report contends that there are two primary benefits of social functionality embedded in ERP. First, it can streamline and communicate within the enterprise; and secondly, it can document business processes to support lean initiatives.

“Manufacturing executives are optimistic about the potential benefits of social functionally embedded in ERP and realize that there could be great value if their ERP application includes features that mirror the functionality of online social networking tools,” said IFS spokesmen. “Increasing communication in the enterprise and the ability to capture the tacit knowledge of senior employees are the most frequently reported benefits.”

The complete study report is now available for download

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