Supply Chain Management:From Customer Connection 2010 : Increased impetus towards enhanced and focused offerings

In the intensifying landscape of supply chains, key success factors which separate high performance supply chains from the rest are ability to be connected with upstream and downstream links, real time sharing of events and ability to collaborate for rapid response to events. Sterling Commerce seems to have stepped up the momentum with enhanced and focused offerings as unveiled in the Sterling Commerce Customer Connection 2010. When I compare the product roadmap which was presented last year (2009 - San Antonio) to what Sterling is promising to offer now, there is a clear shift in making the execution platform more agile and modular (with more on-demand and service based offerings) and the focus is not just on adding analytics but to leverage analytics in the context of the execution flow ("Smart Apps").

Focus on connecting the extended enterprise in the execution context continues to be the strength of Sterling Commerce and it was also interesting to see a plan for connecting the Sterling Commerce platform with CRM packages such as Salesforce.com(SFDC). This is indeed a smart choice and addresses a key whitespace in the Sales community where sales reps still grapple with limited CPQ - Configure, Price, Quote choices as well as have limited view into key customer transactions - orders, quotes, reservations etc. Combining Sterling Commerce's robust CPQ, order capture and order fulfillment backbone with SFDC will open up new opportunities for those looking to have a complete 360 degree view of the customer ranging from new opportunities, to confirmed orders to customer service and support. This is especially relevant for manufacturing customers where these capabilities are often fragmented and the demand for this visibility is on the rise.

From event organization perspective, it was refreshing to see increased focus on customer led sessions this year. The mix of technical vs. business focused sessions was also balanced. The choice of "Gaylord Texan" as the venue was perfect - soothing and spacious ambience with some great entertainment (event at Glass Cactus was amazing). There is still more to catch up. If you are at the event, please drop by Infosys booth and we can chat up.