Buyer’s Guide

Order
Management
Built for B2B
for Intelligent Allocation &
Order Execution in Wholesale
Distribution
 Wholesale distribution and manufacturing (WD&M) The situation comes down to a set of increasingly In This Buyer’s Guide You’ll Learn
is no stranger to pressure. It’s the constant force narrow choices that can be summarized as: “evolve • The Importance of Interoperability Across
that binds supply chains and keeps wheels turning. or face irrelevance”. The usual workarounds — Supply Chain Systems
Converting routine daily pressure into progress is and decimating margins further to
one thing. But a raft of looming new pressures compete on price — are no longer scalable. • The Limits of ERP for Modern Inventory
circling wholesale distributors are less fleeting and and Order Management
harder to find workarounds for: creeping costs of all In This Buyer’s Guide, you’ll learn how purpose-built
kinds, M&A market consolidation, consumerization of order management, and a “microservice” approach, can • How Purpose-Built Inventory and Order
B2B, disintermediation — a list that’s by no means reveal a path to deliver better business results with a Management Improves on the ERP ‘Tack-On’
exhaustive. more dynamic, flexible, and reactive supply chain. Approach

By now, unpacking the “doom” in the detail is moot You’ll also learn how such approaches to intelligent • How To Leverage a Purpose-Built Order
— the industry knows the crossroad of existential allocation and order execution can promote Management System and Leave Existing
risk it faces amid the challenges. interoperability across supply chain systems, why this Architecture Intact
has become an imperative survival factor, and how
What’s less clear is how to solve these challenges it can be done both safely and profitably — without • ERP Gap Analysis: Which Inventory &
in permanent ways that entire wholesale inflating short-term costs or rip and replacing existing Ordering Pains To Solve First
distribution ecosystems can sustain as part of a architecture.
broader answer that can be both progressive and
sustainable. You’ll also learn why continuing to leverage ERP for
available to promise and order processing will put
wholesale distributors at a potential mission-ending
disadvantage.

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 Why the Future of Wholesale Distribution and
Manufacturing Must Include Interoperability
What is Interoperability?
Interoperability is the ability for systems fluid, uninterrupted solution that functions across The implications of this are profound.
and applications to operate together in a individual systems without losing compatibility. Interoperable WD&M ecosystems can better
coordinated way. It facilitates unrestricted coordinate agile supply chain responses to
sharing and data and resources between In other words, efficiency and productivity changing daily demands, while nimbly managing
systems. It enables organizations to achieve become consistent features requiring less smart inventory, promising, and ordering
better efficiency and performance – whilst maintenance and active interventions. operations built around customers’ unique and
providing them with a more holistic view of all changing needs and preferences.
their information. Why Is Interoperability Critical for WD&M?
Interoperable Wholesale Distribution and The “customer centricity” element sits at the
To put it more succinctly, interoperability Manufacturing (WD&M) supply chains heart of what makes modern, composable,
enhances supply chain ecosystem efficiency by “democratize” inventory, ordering, customer interoperable systems a critical survival factor
design. Collaboration across organizations and insight, and supply chain data that can be for WD&M. Without these, the only option is to
businesses requires the ability to exchange, valuably leveraged by any and all parts of the compete on price instead of service. And, with
interpret, and share data with common supply chain. encroaching threats putting more pressure on
understanding, all with the goal of creating a margins, there’s little room left for competitive
pricing or for dissatisfied customers.

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 Make the Move to be Agile, Resilient,
and Profitable

In an industry that has become accustomed to Customer-Centricity: Seamless, automated data sharing
workarounds, mix ups, and miscommunications, paves the way for personalized customer experiences,
interoperability creates speed, agility, mutual visibility, with offerings and fulfillment tailored to urgent and
and certainty with one shared source of truth for building changing customer needs. Imagine, for example, the profit
service around the customer. potential of having your customers preferred inventory at a
distribution center located close to where they need it. You
By moving towards interoperable systems and supply reduce transportation costs and always deliver quickly.
chains, wholesale distributors become resilient and
adaptive to market dynamics and lower their inventory Supply Chain Resilience: Reduce risks, protect your data,
and transportation costs, all while fulfilling on and respond rapidly to supply chain disruptions, such as
commitment to clients and rolling out value-add services to market fluctuations, geopolitical events, or unexpected
stay relevant and profitable. demand surges. The interconnected supply chain allows
for agile adjustments, ensuring the supply chain remains
Shared Inventory Visibility: Across their departments, resilient and adaptable.
businesses, partners and customers share key efficiency
details like inventory levels, order statuses, and shipment Better Productivity: Finally, interoperability helps people
tracking. This transparency gives customers a broader and systems share data to synchronize processes and
inventory selection, helping businesses monitor supply information and make real-time decisions that promote
chain activities comprehensively, quickly identify more and more efficiency improvements, reducing waste
potential issues, and optimize operations to meet and increasing margins.
customer demands effectively.

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 One Challenge at a Time: Up First?
Over Reliance on ERP for Inventory and Order Management
Can An ERP Be Used for Order Management?

Technically? Yes; however, while ERP systems offer Today, businesses need to stay responsive to • Manage and rebalance evolving, complex supply and
rudimentary order management capabilities, they outer factors and influences, plus fluctuating demand needs
fall short on untangling complexities inherent to consumer, market, and industry demands. • Extend the supply chain network for optimal inventory
WD&M and efficient, modern order management and fulfillment
experiences. Sensing this, ERP vendors started adding “tack- • Prioritize and allocate inventory based on customer tiers,
on” order management capabilities over the SLAs, availability, and business rules
To state the obvious, the ERP was originally years, to keep up with changing customer and • Roll out modern order and customer service experiences
designed for broader business management as market needs. However impressive they might
a system of record, not a system of process or seem at face value, these “tack-on” capabilities Besides, ERP upgrades are slow, heavy, and disruptive.
differentiation. This once made sense — when just aren’t robust enough to: It’s not uncommon for allocation and order execution
businesses were built from the inside out. But operations to cause delays, disruptions, and even
times have changed. incorrectly allocate orders.

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 Can Order Management Be Optimized abstraction across multiple disparate ERP systems.
With An ERP? Can Order Management Be Here are a few other critical gaps of leveraging ERP

9 Gaps of an
Optimized With An ERP? for inventory, allocation, and order management.

The honest answer? No. ERPs will still be the 1. Limited Inventory Visibility: ERP systems do

ERP for Order master of record from a financial perspective, but

adding a dedicated order management system for
provide basic visibility into inventory levels and
order statuses. But it’s not comprehensive, granular,

Management:
intelligent allocation and order execution brings or in real time. Not only that, it doesn’t offer two-
real-time inventory visibility, availability to promise, way visibility to customers. The consequences?
smart order allocation, order rebalancing, and more Inaccuracies, mix ups of inventory promised
effective order fulfillment. but not delivered, delayed decisions, stagnant
1. Limited Inventory Visibility inventory, shortages, ineffective replenishment —
2. Suboptimal Inventory Optimization The ERP order management “tack-on” approach all the usual suspects.
3. Low or No Interoperability Potential infers inevitable workarounds and manual processes.
4. Inadequate Support for Value-Adds If margin growth, customer experience, agility, and 2. Suboptimal Inventory Optimization: ERPs don’t
5. Lack of Flexibility in Changing cost reduction are on your list of goals, then the bring much to the table when it comes to advanced
Circumstances “tack-on” approach is antithetical to all of them. inventory optimization capabilities. For instance,
6. Sub-Par Order Fulfillment they rarely factor in seasonal trends, changing
7. Inadequate Demand Forecasting Wholesale distributors that pursue growth through customer requirements, market demand fluctuations,
8. Limited Multi-Channel Support merger and acquisition can wind up acquiring supply and demand modification, and supply chain
9. Complex Pricing and Discounting multiple ERP systems and lines of business (LOBs), disruptions. Without these perks, calculating the
resulting in more silos. right inventory — to balance costs and service levels
A purpose-built order management system quickly — is a perpetual challenge.
connects those LOBs by acting as a layer of

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 3. Low or No Interoperability Potential: customers. This rigidity can lead 8. Limited Multi-Channel Support:
Integrating ERP with external systems to suboptimal inventory and order If you are trying to engage customers
— like third-party logistics providers management processes that entrench through multiple channels like B2B
(3PL), suppliers, or marketplaces — is problems like stagnant inventory, marketplaces, e-commerce, and other
either extremely difficult and expensive, shortages, and processing costs. new channels, your ERP just won’t
or outright impossible. This lack of have the horsepower to support multi-
integration hinders or completely blocks 6. Sub-Par Order Fulfillment: channel order management. The impact?
smooth data exchange and collaboration For example, intelligent order routing, Disconnected processes and customer
with external partners. inaccurate eligibility, or dynamic experience issues.
allocation of inventory. Without a
4. Inadequate Support for Value-Adds: dedicated order management system, 9. Complex Pricing and Discounting:
For example, B2B customer self service, such inefficiencies lead to longer lead ERPs struggle to handle complex pricing
inventory availability in real time across times, bloated processing and transport and discounting structures — especially
locations, and rapid omni-channel costs, and, of course dissatisfied when dealing with various customer
fulfillment. Without a dedicated, customers. segments, contracts, and promotional
purpose-built order management offers. The net cost? Pricing
system (OMS), scalable value-add 7. Inadequate Demand Forecasting: inaccuracies and revenue leakage.
services become near impossible. ERP systems typically rely on historical
data to forecast demand, which is an
5. Lack of Flexibility in Changing insufficient view for useful predictions.
Circumstances: As a result, businesses using ERPs may
ERP systems just can’t flex to struggle with inventory planning and
accommodate the unique and specific face challenges in meeting fluctuating
needs of WD&M businesses and their customer demands.

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 1. Composable away at the monolith, steadily efforts and mistakes, and exchange across the supply customer satisfaction. The

9 Advantages
Microservices moving to better, more modern boosted margins. chain, busted silos, and a flexibility of Blue Yonder’s
Architecture: architectures. unified flow of information and Order Management solutions
The “microservices” part 4. Intelligent Rebalancer: valuable inventory and order ensures fluid alignment with
means you don’t need to Due to longer lead times

of Blue
Blue Yonder’s Order processing operations. existing business processes and
purchase all of Blue Yonder’s Management microservices between the order creation systems.
Order Management solutions layer into and seamlessly and fulfillment for B2B orders, 6. Standardized Data
(Inventory, Commits, Ordering, the supply and demand goes Formats: 8. Extended Supply

Yonder Order
extend capabilities across
Fulfillment, AI/ML, and existing architecture, keeping through several, sudden This is important for Chain Network:
Insights). Rather than purchase costs down, disruption minimal, disruptions/changes during the simplifying the integration Open transfer lanes to evaluate
capabilities you don’t yet need, and progress towards supply order processing duration. Blue process and enabling fulfillment options when

Management
you can pick and combine chain interoperability steady Yonder’s Intelligent Rebalancer compatibility across different inventory is not available at
packaged microservice solutions and scalable. reacts to these sudden systems. If you’re familiar with the requested location or
to scale together, or just select disruptions, and rebalances the what it takes to get your ERP within the committed customer
a single packaged microservice 3. Real-Time Inventory open demand based on the to connect seamlessly with timeframe. Blue Yonder’s
solution to get started. and Order Data: defined allocation rules and other systems, you’ll know the Order Management solutions
Unlike ERP systems with limited order
Imagine the impact of giving ensures all pending orders are feeling of wishing you had the are purpose-built for B2B,
management capabilities, purpose-built Once you’ve solved your most both teams and customers a resequenced and reprioritized luxury of standardized data giving you optimized sourcing,
inventory and order management solutions urgent inventory and ordering moment-by-moment view of for optimal results. formats and protocols. improved availability, and the
challenge, you can scale other what inventory is available to opportunity to consolidate
are specifically designed to handle the
microservices to tackle more promise and order. Just this 5. Seamless Integration: 7. Business Rules-Driven shipments.
complexities of order processing and challenges capabilities. Blue Yonder’s Order Workflows:
one advantage of Blue Yonder’s
fulfillment in a way that sets the path to Order Management vs. legacy Management solutions Extending order processing 9. Built for B2B:
2. Augment Existing Tech: are designed to integrate workflows according to One big advantage of the Blue
reap the benefits of interoperability. ERP triggers a series of trickle-
In short, “augmentative” seamlessly with various clients’ changing and specific Yonder Order Management
down benefits: faster inventory
means you don’t need to rip systems, including ERPs, WMS, requirements is key to solutions is they are built with
turns, regionalization, reduced
out and replace your current TMS, and CRM. The upshot of sustaining all sorts of KPIs — the purpose of solving the
costs and less stagnant
solutions. Instead, you can chip this? Smooth, productive data from cost, right through to complex needs of B2B.
inventory, minimal manual

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 ERP vs. Built-
Here’s a capability-by-capability comparison breakdown of how Blue Yonder’s OMS (which is purpose-
built for B2B) confers significant daily advantages that add up to increased margin, value-add offerings,
greater retention, and sustained growth, even in the most turbulent market conditions.

for-B2B Order Inventory Availability

Management ERP Blue Yonder Order Management

for Inventory
Depending on the ERP system, real-time inventory and Built for performance, real-time inventory updates are
Real-Time
updates may not be available or may require significant a standard feature, ensuring stock levels are accurate
Inventory
customization. across the entire network and all sales channels.

and Order
Multi-Location May have rudimentary location tracking, but lacks the In-the-moment multi-location insights of inventory at
Inventory granularity required for complex distribution networks. various locations, including warehouses, stores, and in-
Tracking transit goods.

Orchestration Inventory
Classifications
May support basic classifications such as raw
materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods, but
likely to struggle with more complex categories.
Flexible and customizable classification systems to cater
to a wide variety of inventory types.

May provide a basic overview of inventory, but granular, Unbeatable end-to-end visibility of inventory across
So far, we’ve skimmed over some of the existential industry Visibility and
real-time tracking is typically non-existent. all sales channels, in real time, for both teams and
Tracking
threats facing WD&M. We’ve also covered how those threats are customers.

exacerbated when ERP continues to be the platform of choice Support basic integrations but may require complex, Specifically designed for interoperability by easily
Integrations & expensive and time-consuming custom development integrating with virtually any native or supply chain
for available to promise, allocation, and order management. Reconciliation for non-standard systems. Data reconciliation can be a partner platforms,a with automated reconciliation
manual and time-consuming process. features as standard.

What we haven’t yet covered is exactly how the right order

Some ERPs offer rudimentary ATP calculations, but Offers real-time ATP calculations, allowing more accurate
management solution fills the critical capability gaps that ERPs Available To
these are often based on outdated data or lack real- commitments to customers, which boosts retention and
Promise (ATP)
leave in those contexts. time responsiveness. revenue.

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 A Side-by-Side Comparison
Inventory Availability (continued)

ERP Blue Yonder Order Management

ERPs typically won’t support complex eligibility rules for inventory Supports advanced eligibility rules to ensure efficient allocation of
Eligibility allocation across various channels. inventory based on pre-set business rules.

ERPs might provide basic reservation capabilities, but real-time Comes with robust reservation features, allowing customers to
Reservations updates and complex reservation scenarios could be challenging. reserve items online for pickup in-store or vice versa.

Usually limited or no scope for intelligent supply segmentation or Identifies the appropriate segmented inventory and the quantity
Supply available to promise calculations, causing potential over promise, to be used in the calculation of ATP, including customer location
Segmentation under fulfillment, and negative customer experience. and proximity, selling channel, route to market, sellable segmented
inventory, future segmented supply, open demand, and more.

AI, ML and ERPs may offer basic machine learning (ML) and analytics Leverages AI/ML for demand forecasting and inventory optimization
capabilities, but might not be as advanced or easy to use. and also provides advanced analytics.
Analytics

ERPs often have complex interfaces that require significant training Typically offer a user-friendly interface designed for ease of use and
UX/UI
to navigate effectively. minimal training.

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 A Side-by-Side Comparison
Order Allocation & Rebalancing

ERP Blue Yonder Order Management

ERPs typically allocate on a first-come, first-serve basis, with limited flexibility for prioritization based on Provides advanced rules for inventory allocation, allowing for prioritization based on various parameters.
Prioritizing Allocation
customer value and order urgency.

ERPs typically won’t support complex eligibility rules for inventory allocation across various channels. Designed to handle backorders and preorders seamlessly, maintaining a smooth ordering process even when
Backorders and Preorders
inventory is not immediately available.

Configuration Parameters ERPs might offer basic configuration options but lack advanced customization for specific business needs. Provides flexible configuration parameters and weightage options, allowing for a more tailored allocation
& Weightage strategy.

ERPs don’t support order rebalancing without manual intervention or extensive customization. Reallocates inventory based on changing demand and supply conditions — rebalancing inventory with orders,
Intelligent Rebalancer
expectations, and requirements.

Fulfillment Service ERPs lack sophisticated logic to determine eligibility for various fulfillment services, which could lead to Offers advanced algorithms to determine eligibility for various fulfillment services, enhancing efficiency.
Eligibility inefficiencies.

ERPs usually provide basic commitment calculations that might not fully account for real-time changes in Provides real-time commitment calculations based on complex rules to ensure optimal inventory allocation and
Commitment Calculations
inventory. adherence to fulfillment commitments.

Machine Learning ERPs may offer basic machine learning capabilities but might not be as advanced or easy to use. Leverages ML for demand forecasting, inventory allocation optimization, and other advanced functions.

ERPs often have complex interfaces that require significant training to navigate effectively and dependency Offers user-friendly interface designed for ease of use, fast staff onboarding, and opportunities for self-learning
UX/UI on tenured staff and “knowledge keepers”. and minimal training, reducing reliance on tenured staff knowledge.

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 A Side-by-Side Comparison
Order Execution

ERP Blue Yonder Order Management

ERPs generally have limited capabilities to handle orders from Handles any volume and complexity of omni-channel orders, providing
Omni-Channel
multiple channels in any kind of synchronized manner. unified customer experience across all sales channels.
Order Management

ERPs may have basic sourcing and optimization capabilities but may Provides advanced sourcing and optimization capabilities to evaluate
Sourcing and lack in advanced features like dynamic sourcing, route optimization, fulfillment options with and without transfer, and then selects the
Optimization and more. optimal one.

An ERP lacks the capability to do initial allocation and rebalancing After a disruption in the supply and/or demand, the inventory
Reallocation & and requires manual intervention to adjust after any disruption to is reallocated and rebalanced based on customer priority, batch,
Rebalancing supply or demand. backorders, and fair share commitments.

Integrated ERPs may provide basic order orchestration and workflow Provides complete orchestration across extended supply chains with

Orchestration & capabilities, but may lack the flexibility and customization required related order entities for end-to-end visibility, plus workflow tools for
for complex workflows. managing complex order scenarios.
Workflow

Pre- and Post- Customer engagement capabilities in ERPs might be limited and Offers robust tools for pre- and post-order customer engagement,
Order Customer may not offer a seamless pre- and post-order experience. speeding up order taking and processing as well as improving
customer satisfaction.
Engagement

Fulfillment ERPs may have limited capabilities for customizing fulfillment rules, Offers flexible and customizable fulfillment rules, enabling hyper-
& Fulfillment Rules potentially leading to inefficiencies in the fulfillment process. efficient and consistent order processing and delivery.

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 A Side-by-Side Comparison
Order Fulfillment & Warehousing

ERP Blue Yonder Order Management

ERP systems may have basic picking functionality but could lack advanced features such as wave picking, Offers advanced picking features, including wave, batch, and zone picking, thereby enhancing warehouse
Pick and Pick Lists batch picking and zone picking. efficiency.

ERPs may not provide comprehensive validation checks and exception handling capabilities, potentially Offers sophisticated validation checks and exception handling mechanisms to ensure accuracy and efficiency in
Validation & Exceptions leading to errors in order fulfillment. order fulfillment.

ERPs may provide basic staging and packaging capabilities, but might lack the flexibility and customization Provides flexible and customizable staging and packaging features, which improves efficiency and
Staging and Packaging needed for specific business requirements. reduces errors.

Shipping and Carrier While ERPs may support some carrier integrations, they could be limited and require additional Easily integrates with a wide variety of carriers, streamlining shipping processes and enabling
development for wider compatibility. consolidated shipping.
Integration

Exception Handling and ERPs may offer basic exception handling and order status tracking, but real-time updates and granular Offers advanced exception handling and granular real-time tracking of order status, improving operational
tracking are usually limited. efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Order Status

ERPs usually support integrations but may require custom development for non-standard systems. Data Easily integrates with a wide variety of platforms such as e-commerce, marketplaces, and 3PL systems with
Integration & Reconciliation reconciliation can be a manual and time-consuming process. automated reconciliation features.

ERPs usually handle inbound logistics and storage operations, but these may lack flexibility and Offers real-time tracking of inbound logistics and storage operations and can adapt to changing
Inbound and Storage
real-time tracking. warehouse conditions.

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 A Side-by-Side Comparison
Order Fulfillment & Warehousing (continued)

ERP Blue Yonder Order Management

ERP systems may provide basic picking and packing capabilities but may lack advanced features Offers flexible and advanced picking and packing options, greatly improving efficiency and accuracy in
Picking and Packing and flexibility. the warehouse.

While ERPs may handle handover and shipping operations, these processes may not be highly Provides customizable and adaptable handover and shipping operations, providing an efficient and error-free
Handover and Shipping
customizable or adaptable. delivery process.

Integration Framework ERPs usually support integrations but may require custom development for non-standard systems. Easily integrates with a wide variety of platforms such as e-commerce, marketplaces, and 3PL systems.

ERPs may provide basic labor and workflow management capabilities but may lack the flexibility required Provides flexible labor and workflow tools for managing complex scenarios and increasing warehouse efficiency
Labor and Workflows
for complex workflows.

Depending on the ERP system, it may be complicated to set up dropshipping, especially when dealing with Supports dropshipping and is equipped to handle multiple suppliers, ensuring smooth order fulfillment.
Dropshipping
multiple suppliers.

ERPs may lack built-in support for cross-docking, which requires manual intervention to streamline the Offers built-in support for planned and also opportunistic cross-docking, improving overall supply chain
Cross- Docking process. efficiency and cost reduction.

Mobile order fulfillment might be challenging or may require significant and expensive customization in an Handles mobile order fulfillment seamlessly, enabling efficient order processing from mobile devices.
Mobile Fulfillment Order
ERP system.

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 ERP Gap Analysis
Questions To Ask and Answer
As we’ve learned, ERP systems can, to a basic degree, be leveraged
1. How Well Does Your ERP Contribute to Reducing Inventory Costs?
Imagine your warehouse team is scrambling to reconcile stock levels between different systems,
for inventory processing and order management.
or your sales reps are unsure of whether specific inventory can be promised to a customer.

That said, it’s usually a situation of workarounds and compromises

While ERP systems with order “add-on features” might initially seem to save on cost, the
that ask awkward questions of “tack-on” ERP capabilities not really
shortcomings can surface in the form of hidden inefficiencies, resulting in higher personnel
designed for highly specific purposes.
costs and time waste.

If you’re thinking of complementing your ERP with a dedicated,

How does Blue Yonder fill this gap? Creating a real-time unified and centralized view of
purpose-built order management solution built for B2B complexity,
all inventory across the enterprise and network exposes more assortment to customers,
here are five ERP capability gaps to investigate.
increases fill rates, and reduces carrying costs, safety stock, waste, and unsellable inventory.
Once you’ve uncovered the on-the-ground “truths” to these
questions, you’ll have gathered the facts you need to make the case
for digital change and get stakeholders on board with modernization 2. How Often Do You Experience Stagnant Inventory and Shortages When Leveraging
incentives that, without being dramatic, could significantly alter ERP for Inventory and Ordering?
business trajectory and growth prospects.
Suppose an unexpected surge in demand for a certain product leaves you struggling to fulfill orders,
leading to under-supply and shortages. Or on the other hand, imagine a situation of over-anticipation
of demand for another product results in overstocking, tying up your capital in static inventory. Speak
to your inventory teams and get factual figures on how often this is happening. You might find that

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 stagnant inventory and shortages have been absorbed as “just part of doing business”. 4. How Much Revenue Are You Losing to Rigid Warehouse-to-Client
If that’s the case, then you have a clear gap to fill and an opportunity to capture. Location Mapping?
How does your ERP handle the complexities of managing inventory allocation and order fulfillment
How does Blue Yonder fill this gap? It’s not just thanks to real-time inventory visibility
across multiple locations? How about when specific clients are rigidly mapped to each warehouse? How
across all locations and channels. Blue Yonder’s Order Management microservices
consistently can your ERP approach manage stock levels across all sites?
also bring AI/ML-infused supply and demand forecasting tools, assisting effective
replenishment, improving inventory exposure, and preventing both shortages, stagnant
Imagine, for example, that you have a restaurant client that orders 300 pieces of salmon by Wednesday
inventory and inefficient use of capital.
for a fish special. They’ve already printed new menus. Your ERP shows availability. You commit. But
your allocation team only finds 100 pieces available. The rest are way over in Boston, about to spoil.
3. What Level of Demand Forecasting Are You Getting From Your ERP in
Changing Contexts? How does Blue Yonder fill this gap? First, by supporting organizational hierarchies across various
business entities. Second, by centralizing data access and custom mapping for each warehouse location,
Imagine you’re planning inventory for your seasonal products based on static historical
with customizable rules for holding, allocating, and processing specific inventory from specific locations
data. Despite past trends, the demand this year surges due to a new trend or drops due to
to specific clients.
a change in consumer behavior, leaving you with excess supply or unfulfilled orders.

How well can your ERP “tack-on” capabilities help you adapt inventory planning 5. How Smart Are Your Order Allocation Algorithms, if You Have Those?
contextually, as in this scenario? It’s not a rhetorical question: it’s something to actively Imagine you’re in a business where fashion trends impact demand. In this scenario, could your
find out. If the answer is “not well at all”, then it’s an easy gap to fix, but you need to ERP system forecast that trend? Or is this kind of scenario an active blindspot that leads to the
actively decide to fix it. overproduction of out-of-fashion items, resulting in wastage and tying up your resources in static
inventory?
How does Blue Yonder fill this gap? Artificial intelligence and machine learning analyzes
past data, current trends, and market dynamics to accurately predict future demand, How does Blue Yonder fill this gap? Artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions anticipate
allowing you to source against future supply and helping you plan and prepare inventory, those kinds of trends, demand fluctuations, and other external factors, minimizing wastage and
for even the most unexpected circumstances. ensuring your inventory is always in line with demand.

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 How To Get Ready
Step 1: Triage Your ERP Step 2: Speak to a Blue Step 3: Deploy Your Blue Yonder
Capability Gaps Yonder Expert About Value Order Solutions
Use the ERP gap analysis guidance Transformation Blue Yonder OMS is fully customizable,
above to assess your most urgent They’ll help you assess your SaaS-native, and completely non-
inventory and ordering efficiency objectives and pain points and provide disruptive. Time-to-value is just weeks,
shortfalls, then triage them in order fact-based insights, recommendations, not months and years, and there’s
of severity. Try comparing your actual and proof points that will drive minimal training required to get teams
performance against KPI and KPA value. Then they’ll provide a Value up and running.
target metrics. Blueprint with a clear path to ROI and
a roadmap for how your Blue Yonder All Blue Yonder order management user
1. Where are you bleeding margin? implementation can be custom-geared experiences are geared for intuitive self
2. Which areas of performance are for augmentation to gel seamlessly with learning, so you’ll experience rapid team
the furthest off the mark? your existing architecture and partner uptake and reduced reliance on training
3. Which areas have the potential to systems in your supply chain. They’ll interventions and tenured staff.
deliver the highest impact if
also help you identify the highest areas
optimized?
of impact as well as what to implement Once an initial site has been configured
Once you’ve identified your pain and in what order. by our expert team, subsequent sites
points, a Blue Yonder expert can help can be implemented and activated in a
you identify the right Blue Yonder matter of days.
microservice(s) to ease them one
by one.

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 Please visit https://blueyonder.com/solutions/adaptive-fulfillment-and-warehousing
to speak with a Blue Yonder expert today.

Visit blueyonder.com/contact-us to get started.

You can also email us at [email protected]

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 Copyright © 2023, Blue Yonder Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Blue Yonder is a
Registered Trademark of Blue Yonder Group, Inc. All other company and product names
may be Trademarks, Registered Trademarks or Service Marks of the companies with
which they are associated. Blue Yonder reserves the right at any time and without
notice to change these materials or any of the functions, features or specifications of
any of the software described herein. Blue Yonder shall have no warranty obligation
with respect to these materials or the software described herein, except as approved
in Blue Yonder’s Software License Agreement with an authorized licensee.

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