Olwyn Spiers, marketing manager of Eqos, a British-based vendor of on-demand global sourcing and supplier management solutions support, said companies which adopted such supply chain management solutions realised several benefits. These included more efficient sourcing processes, enhanced communication with business partners and the ability to monitor sourcing activities more closely.

'Most retailers' supply chain processes are heavily demarcated, with no visibility and little control throughout the sourcing process,' Mr Spiers said.

'In addition, retailers are still largely dependent on spreadsheets and making phone calls. This results in key information being lost or misplaced, data that is wrong or inconsistent, and processes getting slower or worse.

'With the kinds of solutions provided by Eqos, sourcing professionals work collaboratively in real time using a Web-based platform with suppliers, buying offices, agents and regulatory agencies, as well as other trading partners. This ensures information flows across all stakeholders are proactive, synchronised and transparent,' he said.

Three years ago, Eqos helped United States electronics retailer Best Buy set up a collaborative global sourcing system of this type to support the sourcing operation which the company set up a year previously in Shanghai.

Like many other US enterprises, Best Buy had been sourcing increasing volumes of products from the mainland, and had established private label product ranges which required its merchandising teams to work closely with contract manufacturers, prompting the decision to set up shop in China.

However, due to the 13-hour time gap between the mainland and the US retailer's headquarters, and the sheer volume of information involved, communication between the offices became a problem, with staff bogged down in conference calls at late hours, protracted e-mail discussions and long delays in resolving queries.

The global sourcing system established by Eqos allowed the two offices to communicate more efficiently by providing one platform for communication. This eliminated the barrage of spreadsheets, presentations and e-mails which had previously inundated employees, and the subsequent errors that often arose from such a disorganised flow of information.

Eqos recently opened an office in Hong Kong to provide more comprehensive global support to retail customers such as Best Buy.

'Eqos' global expansion comes as more retailers establish sourcing offices and strengthen relationships with agents and strategic suppliers throughout Asia,' Mr Spiers said.

'The company's Hong Kong office provides retailers and their trading partners with Mandarin, Chinese and English language support, along with support across numerous time zones and geographical regions.'

Keith Ip Ho-sum, Oracle's supply chain management applications manager for greater China, said these software systems were increasingly being adopted across the Asia-Pacific as enterprises sought cost-effective ways to enhance their 'supply chain efficiencies and visibility' as well as enable real-time decision making.

Mr Ip said supply chain management solutions covered a wide spectrum of activities, including procurement, order management, manufacturing, product life-cycle management, maintenance, logistics and supply chain planning and execution. Oracle's strategy was to provide customers with a complete end-to-end solution.

A complete supply chain management solution could not be limited to a supply chain planning platform.

Mr Ip said the solution would encompass a suite of other tools. These would include analytical software to forecast and model demand, tools to enable collaborative planning across multiple organisations, an order management system to allow a company to make fast, real-time delivery commitments and a sales and operations planning platform.

'Companies often start off with just our supply chain planning solution before looking to adopt other tools such as demand planning or inventory optimisation,' Mr Ip said.

Hi-tech companies such as telecoms equipment makers generally adopted supply chain solutions early, Mr Ip said.

Now, however, a wide range of growth industries in Asia are beginning to realise the benefits of the systems. These include companies in manufacturing, logistics, retail, engineering and construction, real estate, travel and transport.