Small Vendors Score Big in Supply Chain Software Market
By Melissa Lind, contributing writer
As the global supply chain for food and other industries continues to grow, there is an ever-present need for software development. Despite continuing budget concerns, IT investments remain a top priority
The market for software serving global supply chain management and procurement grew $8.9 billion in 2013. This is equivalent to 7.3 percent, but small vendors outpaced the market with an 18.3 percent increase in sales. Gartner, an information technology research and advisory company conducts a yearly analysis of Supply Chain Management IT vendors as well as other analysis in the tech area. The company has released figures on the top companies in the report "Market Share Analysis: Supply Chain Management and Procurement Software, Worldwide, 2013." Gartner will also be hosting the second Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference 2014 in London on September 10 and 11. A first conference was hosted on May 20 through 22 in Phoenix.
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The report shows the top companies have familiar names but also reports that small vendors are gaining, with greater than average growth rates. SAP continues in the top spot in supply chain IT vendors with nearly a quarter of the overall market. The company also boasts the top increase in sales at 24 percent. Gartner reports that the figures incorporate SAP’s acquisition of Ariba, acquired in 2013, and may explain the massive jump.
The top 5 companies are rounded out by Oracle, JDA Software, Manhattan Associates, and Epicor. These four companies hold a collective 55.3 percent of the market. The remaining 58 vendors mentioned in the report, each considerably smaller in size, had a faster growth rate, which, according to Gartner analysis, indicates a “strong demand for specialized offerings that are competitive, and often complementary, to the larger-suite providers’ offerings.”
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Chad Eschinger, research VP at Gartner, states in a recent press release that “While acquisition activity has further consolidated the top 10 market share, it has also opened opportunities for smaller, best of class (BOC) vendors.”