SAP America

Integration tools enhance flexibility

As the consumer goods landscape changes due to the mergers and acquisitions driven by the industry's leading players, the question of how the combined companies manage and integrate separate I.S. entities into a new whole becomes paramount for long-term success and efficiencies across the enterprise and supply chain.

Three years ago the Scotts Company was turning inventory twice a year, which may not sound like much to a company that does 50 turns a year like Dell.

The ability to render the perfect order is the single most daunting task facing the CG industry today.

As a Florida native and employee of Hawaiian Tropic for more than 19 years, one would think that Bill Jennings, executive vice president and chief financial officer, knows a thing or two about obtaining a killer tan.

Two of the three new e-business integration players roared to the top of this year's Best of Breed list, with Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) taking first place and IBM (www.ibm.com) second.

Selecting an enterprise suite is a little like choosing between an exotic sports car and a mid-priced sedan, according to research published by Gartner (www.gartner.com).

While these companies didn't make the best-of-breed lists in their respective categories, they certainly deserve a look as you put together your RFPs for the coming year.