Research on IT tools used in flow planning in supply chains

Abstract

The processes of globalization and increased competitiveness caused that the company have begun to look for solutions and strategies that give opportunities for development and further market expansion. The intensification of competition on the global scale in the 1980s, forced companies to offer low cost, high quality and robust products with greater design flexibility. Various management concepts have been used to improve production efficiency and speed up the cycle. In the 1990s, many manufacturers and service providers began to focus on improving collaboration with suppliers and improving purchasing and supply management. Initially the cooperation was mainly developed in the area of purchasing policies and supply management in factories, but as time went on, it became increasingly popular among wholesalers and retailers who also decided to integrate their transport and logistics functions in a supply chain with a view to gain competitive advantage (Choon T.). The increase in customer requirements with the same pressures to reduce costs and accelerate time service delivery resulted in the growing importance of planning and anticipation of future events. The increasing amount of data makes management depended on systems that allow for rapid decision-making. Apart from ERP systems, which mainly support the management of individual businesses, more and more companies invest in systems APS (Advanced Planning System), which provide better support in planning processes throughout the supply chain. The aim of the article is to present the idea of advanced supply chain planning, constraints and challenges facing the managing the flow of products and information. The study also addressed the role of Advanced Planning Systems in supply chain management and identify main problems and obstacles that users and decision makers come across while implementing and using IT systems.