Event Management Systems (EMS) pushes out real-time, automatic alerts about key metrics.

Once considered a separate category of supply chain performance management, these days EMS or event management systems software is showing up on managers' dashboards and scorecards as an integral part of real-time performance oversight. Previously, EMS would kick into action only when tripped by an exception or anomaly. A real-time EMS exception like a late inbound delivery can put a big crimp in performance management, so why delay in making an alert?

According to Supply Chain Digest, “EMS capabilities are built into and are capable of, for example, sending an alert when a key metric has reached a defined tolerance or is trending negative or to alert a manager if there are problems in execution.”

Best-in-Class Supply Chain Performance Management:

• In-depth understanding of all the important supply chain business functions and relationships.
• Leverages core capabilities of integration, information, and collaboration, and addresses a comprehensive range of business processes.
• Automate internal processes to collaboratively extend automation across the supply chain.

Top Considerations before Buying Supply Chain Performance Management products:

Software should enable an organization to strategize, plan, and execute a company's business functions of buying, producing, moving, storing, fulfilling, and servicing across multiple business processes.

Key Providers:

1. Logility's principal activity is to develop, market and support an integrated suite of business-to-business collaborative commerce software products to small, medium, large and Fortune 1000 companies. The software is designed to manage the flow of information and products along the entire value chain of an enterprise. Logility’s Voyager Solutions is a full supply chain management solution that features performance monitoring capabilities in a single Internet-based framework and provides supply chain visibility, demand, inventory and replenishment planning, sales and operations planning, supply and inventory optimization, manufacturing planning and scheduling, transportation planning and management; and warehouse management. Forecasting, as well as demand planning, point-of-sale analysis, distribution and retail operations are provided by the company's Demand Solutions product. The company makes sales directly and through parent company American Software.  Reuter's reports that Logility’s customer base is approximately 1,250 companies located in more than 70 countries.

2. Adexa Inc., founded in 1994 by Dr. Cyrus Hadavi, provides enterprise business planning and performance management solutions.  These solutions include an enterprise global planning system, sales and operations planning, demand planning, collaborative operations planning, supply chain planning, factory planning and scheduling, supplier management, event management and analytics, sales contact form, express benchmark analysis, and value assessment. The company's Enterprise Global Planning System (eGPS) software includes applications designed to help manufacturers manage a wide range of operations, including costs, factory scheduling, sales, inventory and materials management, and supply chain planning. The company’s enterprise global planning system solutions are used in various markets and industries, including semiconductor, aerospace, industrial, soft goods, automotive, electronics, chemicals, and CPG. Formerly known as Paragon Management Systems, Inc., the company changed its name to Adexa, Inc. 2000.

3. Blue Sky Technologies, Inc. engages in the development of supply-chain alerting software, providing customers with targeted decision and metrics-trending dashboards. The company’s solutions are web-based, real-time and configurable to serve the needs of multiple individuals within a company’s various levels of supply chain responsibilities, including shippers, carriers, and 3PLs. The company offers integrated, prepackaged supply-chain software and quality service offerings to manage global enterprises. As reported in online BNet, the company was selected to the Gartner Group's list of “Cool Vendors” and also voted Top 100 Logistics IT Companies for 2009 by the editors and publishers of Inbound Logistics.

4. One Network Enterprises, Inc. provides business process network solutions. Founded in 1999 and formerly as Elogex, Inc., the company engages in software-as-a-service (SaaS) transportation solutions in the areas of replenishment, transportation, radio frequency identification, aftermarket services, and hardware, providing visibility, decision-support, execution, and analytics. It serves retailers, manufacturers, distributors, transportation carriers, consumer products, high tech, defense, logistics, grocery, government, brokers, equipment service providers, and third part logistics providers. The company offers a process-centric software architecture with a scalable network to improve operating effectiveness, lower IT costs and accelerate system adoption rates.

Supply Chain Performance Management
Definition: Monitor the value and effectiveness of Supply Chains by linking processes, information, technology and members through a set of objectives and goals.