95 percent of manufacturers still use spreadsheets for supply chains

The study, 'Joint Industry EDI/B2B Survey', by analyst Forrester, took input from 300 IT professionals around the world and found that 95% of respondents use spreadsheets, for some or all of their B2B transactions. "Driven by the globalization of supply and rapid growth of emerging markets, it is not surprising to see so many participants in supply chains using spreadsheets as a primary vehicle for exchanging information," comments Karl Salnoske, executive vice president of service delivery and CIO at GXS. "The good news is that there are many options to integrate these trading partners in an automated fashion that do not require significant investments in back-office systems, or the deployment of complex integration software," he adds. Salnoske points to "powerful and easy-to-use web forms technologies and new capabilities within Microsoft Excel 2007 and 2010" that provide means for manufacturers of all sizes and locations to participate in B2B e-commerce automation. "Automating more B2B processes saves money, shortens the order-to-cash cycle and enables higher customer satisfaction," he advises. "Businesses with robust B2B integration capabilities are now in prime-position to finally automate relationships with all business partners, regardless of size or technical prowess, worldwide." Other key figures include: 85% of respondents use some form of B2B e-commerce services, versus software, in their B2B environments; 46% plan on putting more focus on services-based transport for B2B in the next three years; and several different business issues are driving the need for an improved ability to interact with trading partners. These include the need to reduce rising costs (82%); the need to exchange electronic documents with business partners (also 82%) and the need for real-time visibility into business processes (81%).