Untitled - Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego

is first necessary to define the management model and only then select such
tools which ensure that the selected model is supported by IT systems.
New challenges that logistics companies are facing are connected with the
following factors:
a) IT system integration not only within company and its individual departments,
but also throughout the entire supply chain/network;
b) the ensuring of high level of information security in its flow between individual
links of the supply chain within supply networks ( ISO 27001 certificates);
c) self-evolution of solutions dedicated to specific fields, e.g., pharmaceutical,
automotive, FMCG, electronic.
The above processes aim at shortening the time from order placement to its
completion, decreasing the level of errors and irregularities, as well as accelerating
the process of adapting the supply chain/network to market changes and
decreasing the cost of running a business by maintaining quality adequate to
market expectations. The changes which have taken place in the last two or
three years are connected mostly with increasing the level of risk in running
a business, which results mostly from spreading globalization and uncertainty,
as well as the growing significance of transaction costs. Efficient processes and
low logistic costs increasingly frequently become the factors which make a given
market product different from others, therefore having a decisive role in forming
its competitive advantage.
9.3. Basic rules of IT system integration
and the risks involved
Most frequently used in chains and networks are the SCM and ERP systems,
which are described in detail in specialist literature. However, it is worth noting
that SCM systems should include in their make-up a variety of well integrated
IT systems, which include:
– systems for electronic data exchange – an “integration rail” between various
systems;
– systems for receiving and recording orders at the customer's side;
– systems allowing placement of transport orders to logistics providers
(usually the provider does not have own transport fleet, relying on contracts
with shippers), as well as facilitating preparation of shipment documentation;
– mobile systems for drivers, as a type of terminal of integrated systems
supporting logistic provider's internal organizational processes;
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