Companies and technology

I wanted to discuss the dynamic nature of technology and the direction it is evolving in especially the internet. Web 2.0 has given the user more control of data and the sheer number of users who can contribute to any application or service makes it so powerful. It has enabled more avenues for information sharing in the form of networking sites like facebook or various blog sites. New technologies have enabled sites like Amazon and ITunes to make a lot of money leveraging the power of long tail by reaching out to people more and offering services which could not be offered before. Even such blog sites are an example of the power of collective contribution of knowledge.

How do companies implement new technologies and assess how they will impact the way the company operates in the future. How do they align their strategy with the IT implementations and not treat it as an independent installation. For example, a successful ERP implementation is a transformation of the way how technology works in a company and also in the way how people operate within the company.

Another interesting discussion is Do companies need costly erp systems? And what is the tradeoff of spending millions of dollars on acquiring more information? In one of my previous classes, a professor had a very interesting framework which basically viewed the different elements of a supply chain as a whole.

Thinking from a retail perspective more information from an ERP system’s Supply Chain Module might reduce the demand fluctuation and reduce the inventory levels but the company needs to see if they can achieve the same or more cost savings achieved by lower inventory by reducing their transportation times or by building a new warehouse.