More than 50% of study participants say they are now using or considering using on-demand or software as a service applications to manage select portions of their supply chain–early adopters report "overwhelming benefits"

BOSTON, MA – March 24, 2006 – No longer a niche application, on-demand supply chain software as a service (SaaS) solutions are a viable option for all size companies looking to minimize in-house IT requirements and find immediate value and ROI in a technology implementation.

According to a just-released study by AberdeenGroup, "The On-Demand Tipping Point in Supply Chain," CEOs and COOs at top supply chain performers are twice as likely to be supporters of the on-demand model, also called "software as a service.or SaaS." Report findings indicate a majority of on-demand supply chain management (SCM) users say they achieved operational status with their application in less than 3 months--and ROI in less than a year.

The vast majority of companies investing in on-demand supply chain solutions are not looking to their traditional software provider for answers.

Traditional SCM vendors are preferred as an SaaS on-demand source by just 5% of respondents. This low showing can be traced to the fact We found that:

(1) Most traditional SCM vendors have application architectures built to support a single enterprise per software instance versus a networked community, and

(2) Most lack the daily operational focus and support structures, and pre-connected trading partners that many of the specialist on-demand vendors bring to the table.

"The mystique of using on-demand supply chain management (SCM) SaaS technology is disappearing, making it a viable alternative for companies of all levels of supply chain maturity," says Beth Enslow, senior vice president, enterprise research and report author. "While current users of on-demand SCM SCM tend to be above average supply chain performers, our the study results show the highest near-term interest in on-demand adoption is from below average performers."

Current on-demand SaaSCM users report "overwhelming benefits" from the on-demand model., says Enslow, especially in implementation speed, maintenance ease, and return on investment.

More than 50% of respondents say they are now using or considering using on-demand or software as a serviceSaaS applications, especially for externally facing processes with suppliers, customers, and transportation carriers.

Nearly half sayCurrent SaaS users report strong benefits over on-premise applications in the areas of return on ROIinvestment, implementation speed, ease of upgrades, and customer service. is better from their on-demand from the vendors than from their traditional supply chain vendors

To Ddownload a complimentary report copy atof the report, follow this link:

http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/RA_SCTippingPT_BE_2843.asp

About AberdeenGroup, Inc.

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and insights focused on the global, technology-driven value chain. Aberdeen's benchmarking, market and solution assessments, sales acceleration programs, and conferences support Global 5000 value chain and technology executives--and the solution providers who serve them. For more information, visit www.aberdeen.com or call 617-723-7890.