COVER STORY

Strategy and Tactics to Achieve Effective IT Governance

-- Kerry Litten

IT governance is currently a hot topic and has been for some time. A consensus has formed that it should be an important area of focus for any organization interested in increasing the business value derived from their investment in IT. The article explains what IT governance essentially means and describes various steps to implement IT governance effectively.

© 2007 INS. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

E-SCM

Supply Chain: What's Next? : Managing the Entire value chain for volume and profits

-- Otto Schulz, Matthias Kannegiesser and Hendrik Disteldorf

Manufacturers that want to boost profitability by satisfying customers have to answer a number of important questions: Which customers do we serve first? Which orders are top priorities? What impact does the sales price have on production utilization? What are our customers' real requirements and how do we perform against these requirements? Questions such as these are typically answered by focusing on individual functions. It's time to stop concentrating on functions and start focusing on the entire supply chain.

© 2007 A T Kearney Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with Permission.

E-CRM

Good Supply Chains Need CRM

-- Ann Grackin

The article explains why companies can't design the supply chain, or for that matter, the rest of the business, unless they have in-depth understanding of their customer. As companies compete globally, focus on brand mastery, battle for shelf space and face tremendous challenges in managing their dynamic channels, the need for better linkages between the customer-facing markets and the supply markets becomes increasingly obvious.

© 2007 ChainLink Research. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

ERP

ERP Implementation in SMEs : Pre-RoI Calculations

-- Pankaj M Madhani, Amit Saraswat and Ravi Gor

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a business management software, which is used to integrate and manage business functions within an organization. This article highlights the growth of ERP industry in India with significant market share coming from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It explains the ERP deployment issues in SMEs, the growth drivers of ERP and the cost benefits of implementing ERP.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved

E-TECHNOLOGIES

E-Commerce : The EDI Way

-- Bholanath Dutta

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is an enabling technology applied to a strategic re-engineering effort. Creative use of the EDI effectively reduces non-value-added costs, increases the availability of working capital and improves the quality of the data as well as the business processes. This article focuses on evolution, benefits and various applications of the EDI.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved

BOOK REVIEW

IT and the East

-- Authors: James M Popkin, Partha Iyengar Reviewed by G P Mrudhula

A major transformation is being witnessed in the field of Information Technology (IT) around the world. The shift of major IT projects from the western countries to India and China gave birth to Chindia. Chindia is a story that is more conceptual than real and more speculative than practical. The global strategists and decision-makers have to keenly observe the technological advancements of these developing nations. The book explains how the two nations might soon declare their combined influence on the IT industry at the international level. It addresses the issues, priorities and perspectives of executives leading IT businesses in China and India.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved

CASE STUDY

The Making of Apple's ipod

-- Vivek Gupta and Manasi Pawar

The case discusses in detail the development process and launch of iPod, a digital music player, by the US-based Apple Inc. in October 2001. Although iPod was priced high when it was launched, the demand for it kept on increasing as it was seen as a fashion statement especially amongst the youth. The iPod emerged as a highly successful product generating about 40% of Apple's total revenues in 2006. The case also highlights few complaints against iPod including poor battery life, low durability, the vulnerability of iPod screen to scratches and some patent infringements, etc.

© 2007 ICMR. All Rights Reserved. For accessing and procuring the case study, log on to www.ecch.com or www.icmrindia.org.

INTERVIEW

"Disaster humanitarian relief is good, and it's good for business, too."

Dan Ludwig Dan Ludwig, Head, DHL's Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Management Office for the Americas, explains the objectives of DHL's disaster management program, the key learnings from the past disasters experienced by DHL, how the company formalized the crisis management program and the key challenges faced in managing disasters.

© 2006 Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies. Reprinted with permission from the November 2006 issue of Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies, a Keller International Publishing Magazine.

SURVEY

Waiting for the Payback

Pat Sweet In the survey, respondents were asked on the major threatening factors of effective supply chain planning. Fierce competition, globalization, shortening product life cycle and demanding customers were the main factors identified. Organizations have yet to realize significant gains from implementing supply chain technology. Only 8% of the respondents have realized all the benefits they expected from the systems while 36% have reported some gains. However, organizations continue to invest in supply chain technologies despite uncertain benefits.

© 2007 Reprinted with permission by the Evaluation Centre website, the independent guide to IT software, services and technology (www.evaluationcentre.com), and Conspectus Magazine (www.conspectus.com).