List of the top SCM software to use in 2025 

Modern consumers are used to the comfortable situation where any commodity they need is just a few steps or clicks away, available 24/7/365. Thus, whenever we lack something, we drop by the local mall or order it delivered to our front door via the Internet. But when making a purchase, we seldom wonder what makes such consumer-friendly shopping possible. The answer is pretty simple: the smooth operation of supply chains.

In the contemporary, largely globalized world, supply chains are the veins through which the blood of the economy circulates, ensuring a flawless connection between manufacturers and end-users. As the consumer market covers the entire planet and embraces an almost limitless range of products, handling supply chains becomes quite an ordeal for entrepreneurs, especially in retail. This is where the best supply chain management software available in today’s market comes in more than handy.  

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What is supply chain management (SCM)?

Supply chain operations require a dedicated, focused approach if a company wants to acquire all the cost-saving, efficiency-boosting benefits that its supply chain holds. Supply chain management done with proper SCM solutions is a proven way to manage inventory centrally, leverage built-in analytics tools, and gain higher operational efficiency across the board.  

Supply chain management (SCM) is the efficiency-driven coordination of technical and business processes involved with the functional chain that a company uses to source, inventory, organize, and manage its supplies. Specialized management software helps centralize and automate the entire supply chain, from raw materials acquisition to production assets to end-product delivery.

Efficient supply chain planning goes far beyond constructing the A-to-B route — with the right supply chain management software; you get complete supply chain visibility and the ability to optimize every tiny touchpoint and process.  

Supply chain management software trends

Supply chains are advancing at breakneck speed, urging businesses to optimize operations while adapting to shifting market demands. Emerging trends highlight the need for agile, scalable, smarter, data-driven supply chain decision-making. Here are some standout trends shaping the future of supply chain management: 

• Embracing agile supply chains: Companies are increasingly turning to supply chain management solutions to implement agile supply chains, which enable them to swiftly handle disruptions and respond to changing customer needs. This flexibility is especially vital in industries with fast-evolving markets. 
• Enterprise Resource Planning system integration: Many organizations link supply chain planning solutions with ERP software. This integration creates an ultimate platform that streamlines planning, providing higher supply chain visibility and better control over more business operations. 
• Leveraging AI and analytics: Advanced analytics powered by artificial intelligence help reshape and boost supply chain activities. Businesses can now fine-tune demand forecasting, conduct thorough inventory optimization, and improve supply planning. In the long run, proper SCM software helps cut costs and enhance overall efficiency and adaptability. 
• Adopting cloud solutions: Cloud-based solutions for supply chain management are gaining momentum for their flexible environments that help reduce costs. Cloud platforms simplify real-time collaboration across global networks and facilitate software updates, allowing businesses to stay ahead of the curve. 
• Prioritizing sustainability: More companies are adopting SCM tools that help track and minimize their environmental footprint. From optimizing transportation to monitoring supplier sustainability, these tools enable businesses to stick with eco-friendly practices and goals. 
• Customer-centric approaches: High supply chain performance is achieved when you tailor processes to meet rising consumer expectations for speed and customization and learn to better customer relationships. Integrating efficient order and inventory management tools allows you to leverage SCM systems for high service levels and quicker product/service delivery. 

Types of supply chain management software

Supply chain management software comes in different shapes and forms, each tailored to address specific aspects of the supply chain process. By leveraging the right combination of tools, businesses can optimize efficiency, cut costs, and boost responsiveness to customer demand.  

These are the main types of supply chain management software employed today: 

1. Inventory management software. Real-time stock updates, automated replenishment, and integration with supply chain management and planning solutions. 
   Focuses on inventory optimization by tracking stock levels, monitoring turnover rates, and managing reorder points. 
2. Transportation Management Systems (TMS). Route optimization, freight cost analysis, shipment tracking, and carrier management. 
   Optimizes logistics and transportation management, helping ensure goods are delivered on time and at the lowest cost. 
3. Demand forecasting software. Predictive analytics, scenario planning, and sales forecasting. Uses historical data and market trends to predict future customer demand accurately. 
4. Supplier management software. Vendor evaluation, contract management, and performance monitoring. Helps manage relationships with suppliers and source the timely supply of quality materials or products. 
5. Order Management Systems (OMS). Order management and tracking, automated order processing, and customer notifications. Handles the order fulfillment process, from capturing orders to delivery. 
6. Supply chain planning solutions. Capacity planning, production scheduling, and inventory distribution strategies. Provides tools for creating strategic supply chain plans to balance supply and demand. 
7. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) with SCM Modules. Financial management, procurement, and supply chain integration. 
   Offers an integrated platform that combines supply chain management features with core business functions. 
8. Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). Layout optimization, inventory tracking within warehouses, and automated workflows. Focuses on optimizing warehouse operations, including storage, picking, and packing. 
9. Procurement software. Supplier catalogs, RFQ (Request for Quotation) tools, and spending data analysis. Streamlines the purchasing process by automating supplier interactions and purchase order generation. 
10. Integrated business planning platforms. Cross-functional supply chain analytics, collaborative tools, and cloud-based deployment. Combines multiple supply chain functions into a single, unified solution. 

Key functions of SCM solutions

Supply chain software is focused on simplifying and optimizing the supply chain journey from start to finish. Specialized software solutions come equipped with various tools and features that enhance efficiency, visibility, and responsiveness. Here’s a breakdown of their core functions: 

• Inventory management software: These tools help maintain stock levels at just the right volume — avoiding both excess inventory and stockouts — while cutting carrying costs. Real-time inventory tracking and warehouse management enable better visibility and tighter control. 
• Demand and supply planning: Advanced demand planning and forecasting tools analyze historical data and market trends to accurately predict customer demand. When paired with supply planning, they enable businesses to tailor production and procurement to future business needs. 
• Transportation management and shipping tools: Transportation features help cut expenses while maintaining delivery promises by optimizing shipping routes, managing freight costs, and guaranteeing on-time deliveries. 
• Supplier management: Supplier organization and collaboration tools help businesses maintain strong vendor relationships by guaranteeing timely, high-quality material supplies. Performance tracking and risk assessment features make it easier to choose the right suppliers. 
• Order management: Rapid and efficient processing of purchase orders is the foundation of great customer service. SCM solutions automate the process, improve order accuracy, and provide real-time updates, enabling one to insightfully meet customer demand and adjust a real demand-driven supply chain. 
• End-to-end visibility: With full-on transparency across the supply chain process endpoints, businesses can spot bottlenecks early and make informed decisions. Visibility spans every step — from customer demand to procurement to final delivery. 
• Cost control and efficiency: By integrating relevant supply chain management features, businesses get to cut software costs and improve general efficiency, while automated workflows and data-driven supplier management reduce redundancies and enhance ROI. 

With these essential functions, SCM systems empower businesses to build resilient, customer-focused supply chains. From refining demand forecasting to optimizing transportation management and inventory control, SCM tools are essential for staying competitive.

Challenges of supply chain management in retail

What are the bottlenecks that retail businesses face today? 

1. Shifts in consumer demand. For generations before, the chief concerns of buyers were the price and the quality of products. At the outset of the third millennium, other considerations have become equally important for consumers who make their purchasing decisions. They start to wonder whether the item they fancy is environmentally friendly or what the working conditions for the personnel were on the shop floor of its manufacture. Moreover, the ubiquity of the internet gives modern consumers ample opportunities to discuss the merits and demerits of products with the global audience and brands. Naturally, the latter are forced to promptly react to the customers’ feedback and fine-tune or even overhaul their approaches, which adds a fair share of volatility to the contemporary retail market. 
2. Diversity of sales channels. Parallel to classic brick-and-mortar stores brands own, e-commerce is getting triumphant traction nowadays. Plus, companies employ the services of third-party agents (both physical and virtual), making the distribution landscape exceedingly complex. So retail brands have to adjust their logistic policies to each sales channel and consumer category to thrive in today’s highly competitive and patchy retail market.
3. Cooperating with multiple suppliers. Retailers of the early 21^st century often have to deal with many suppliers that may have unique working schedules, currencies, and business ethics. Finding a common language with all and sundry requires the utmost flexibility from retail companies.
4. Climate-driven risks. With products delivered to all climate zones in any season, it is quite a challenge for retail companies to keep the goods, transportation means, and personnel from harmful environmental influences. Such a task is rather demanding, even when you know what natural conditions to expect. However, given the irregular weather patterns caused by the much-discussed climate change, this undertaking becomes a real headache.
5. Intricacies of international relations. Storms or floods can disrupt well-greased supply chains. International confrontations, embargoes, trade, and conventional wars are the risk factors that retailers must also consider. So modern entrepreneurs in the industry must not only be competent in their realm but also keep their sales and sails trimmed to the political winds blowing in the areas of their business interests. 

These stumbling blocks are pretty serious in themselves. Still, retail ventures also have to manage the numerous features of the supply chain lifecycle, including supplier relationship control, purchase and order processing, inventory and warehouse management, logistics procurement, demand anticipation, bookkeeping, and other financial aspects.  

Fortunately, ours is not only the epoch of globalization but also of across-the-board digitalization. State-of-the-art technologies enable the integration of all these previously disparate assignments into one system, employing different types of supply chain management software. 

Benefits of SCM (supply chain management) software

Supply chain management tools are software apps that function as real-time analytical mechanisms. They enable the management of the end-to-end flow of products and data related to supplier sourcing, transportation, warehousing, and inventory handling. The best supply chain software also provides round-the-clock monitoring and total transparency of supply operations at each process junction.

Having been developing software for retail ventures for a decade, we at DICEUS know what perks tools used in supply chain management offer. 

Cost saving 

The top supply chain management software has integrated accounting modules that streamline financial operations and exclude mistakes caused by the human factor, which will likely cost the company a pretty penny. But even apart from those valuable functions, supply management tools are instrumental in optimizing and automating many workflow procedures, reducing both the time spent and the number of employees involved in often monotonous and repetitive assignments. All of this spells cutting down on overhead expenditures. 

Enhanced flow of products and data 

The core function of supply management software is ensuring an accelerated flow of everything related to supply—information, materials, and goods. Speed is mission-critical in the age of cutthroat competition. Departments should quickly exchange business messages, outlets should receive products on short notice, and customers should get answers to their inquiries quickly. Such promptness is the foundation of smooth delivery, smart and flexible decision-making, seamless in-house collaboration, and high-quality customer services—the summaries that boost an organization’s efficiency, granting it a competitive edge.

Maximum customer data visibility 

The most popular supply chain management software solutions contain analytical tools that give a 360-degree view of clients, their demographics, preferences, and shopping behavior. With this information, the company’s experts can draw a comprehensive portrait of their customers and map out a marketing strategy to meet them halfway, effectively turning such solutions into supply chain planning tools. 

Keeping a lean inventory 

Having sufficient inventory means being able to respond to demand fluctuations timely. But how much is enough? Supply chain tools can help you keep track of the roster and quantity of items. You have to rule out the absence of some products and their excess, which eats up warehouse space and related expenditures. Moreover, by employing supply chain tools software, you can meticulously schedule goods delivery and shipment to cut down on storage facilities drastically.  

Optimizing vendor selection 

The specialized features of many supply chain software solutions enable comparisons between several vendors regarding the prices of their goods, delivery speed, support services, and other operational details. With a clear view of available options, retail managers could make better data-driven decisions and switch suppliers if their conditions stopped being most favorable. 

Supply chain software offers undeniable benefits, making it a must-have for any retail company with big-time aspirations. What are the available options in this niche?

DICEUS recommends: 5 best supply chain management tools

SAP  

Microsoft is the vendor’s most notable client (and it has about 400,000 smaller ones), and it is the global leader in terms of revenues generated by its supply chain management products. SAP is not a single solution but a whole suite of tools that provides supply chain collaboration, warehouse management, integrated business planning, and more. By using SAP, organizations can significantly enhance storage and inventory management, streamline shipment management procedures, and facilitate cooperation with multiple suppliers.

This software keeps abreast of cutting-edge technologies (such as AI, IoT, and cloud deployment), allowing it to leverage advanced analytics, produce sales forecasts, map out financial and supply plans, and do dozens of other things that will improve your company’s efficiency.

The only drawback of this supplier is the lack of phone- and email-based customer support.  

Oracle 

It has the runner-up spot in revenues, outstripping SAP’s number of customers. Oracle can offer an impressive line of cloud-based SCM products covering different aspects of supply chain management: procurement, order management, product lifecycle management, inventory control, supply chain planning, logistics, and maintenance. Such a roster of tools enables enterprises to handle all phases of supply workflow and to shape cost reduction and revenue growth policies based on the in-depth analysis of the customer persona.  

The major shortcomings of Oracle are identical to those mentioned above. 

JDA 

This logistics behemoth firmly holds third place in SCM software revenues, with its solutions utilized by 20 out of the top 25 supply chains rated by Gartner, which operate not only in retail but also in the manufacturing, entertainment, travel, and hospitality industries. JDA’s tool is an end-to-end supply chain solution enabling both planning and implementation. It encompasses all aspects of the supply workflow – from scheduling and inventory management to workforce and task supervision, with budgeting and forecasting in between.  

This software facilitates collaboration with retailers and bolsters customer service by forestalling their shopping desires. The downside worth mentioning is the absence of alerts that keep managers updated on every stage of the shipment process. 

Infor Global Solutions 

Software by this vendor is precisely honed for production planning and scheduling, opening broad streamlining opportunities for inventory optimization. Its supplier management functionality is meant to compare the quality of delivery displayed by various suppliers.  

To use it, you have to contact the developer for a quote, yet no trial period or demo version of the solution is available to help you make up your mind. 

E2open 

Being not among the niche leaders, this vendor, however, shows the most robust growth pattern and offers a comprehensive suite of tools capable of supply workflow management and forecasting demand and planning the organization’s supply strategy. Among its unquestionable fortes is the procurement module that sends alerts in case any transactions demand attention, return management opportunities, and a free demo version extended to clients. Customer support is also evident, although only during the working day. 

When you are through with choosing supply chain management software, you should integrate it with your existing ecosystem. 

Implementing supply chain tools: Lifehacks to remember

Experts of DICEUS have amassed tons of experience in new software integration, so they consider it essential to pay attention to the following tips. 

1. Get all stakeholders interested. People tend to resist changes that will impact them, forcing old dogs to learn new tricks. To ward off this reluctance, you should communicate with the teams and individuals who will work with the latest software. They should realize why it is necessary to onboard this tool, what processes and operations will be affected by the changeover, and how they will benefit from adopting it. Also, allow for some learning curve and prepare for transition period frictions.  
   
2. Choose technology wisely. The crucial choice you must make is between an on-premise and cloud (typically, SaaS) SCM system. The former is a good option when you have a strong in-house IT crew and a sufficient budget to maintain it permanently. However, for lean-minded small enterprises with no IT department, the cloud is the only alternative. 
   
3. More haste, less speed. All novelty introductions should be carefully planned. While mapping out the integration strategy, don’t go for speed. Focused on immediate implementation, people may forget about any serious venture’s risks. So easy does it. Move gradually from stage to stage, avoiding time pressure that can do more harm than good. 
   
4. There can’t be too much testing. Since an SCM is a comprehensive issue involving nearly all departments, you should take care it runs according to expectations in all use cases and test it properly. Even when the system is put into operation, you should monitor its functioning, collect feedback from all its users, and improve underperforming elements when they are identified to nip problems in the bud. 
   
5. Canned solutions aren’t always the best option. Off-the-shelf tools (even by the top suppliers) are one-size-fits-all solutions for an average user. They are more affordable and ready for usage soon after acquisition.  

However, each retail organization is unique in size, the products it deals in, the market it serves, shipment geography, and other aspects. Naturally, the variety of supply chain management software can hardly be a perfect fit for all of them. If this is your story, contact DICEUS to commission a bespoke SCM that will contain only the functionalities you need and thus will suit your venture to a tee.  

Top advantages of custom SCM software

While off-the-shelf supply chain management software may offer broad (excessively so) functionality, custom SCM solutions provide businesses with a tailored approach that matches their unique requirements and objectives. Below are the key advantages of opting for custom SCM software: 

Tailored to specific business needs 

Custom SCM solutions are designed to address an organization’s distinct supply chain processes. Unlike generic solutions, they mind unique workflows, industry-specific regulations, and operational nuances. 

• Example: A company with a complex transportation and/or supply network can integrate customized transportation management features to optimize routes and schedules specific to its operations. 

Enhanced scalability 

Custom software evolves with your business. It can scale up or down based on changing requirements, giving you long-term value and helping avoid the limitations of pre-built software. 

• Example: As your business grows or diversifies, your supply chain management features can be updated without requiring a complete overhaul. 

Better integration with existing systems 

Custom solutions are built to integrate with the company’s existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, inventory and demand management tools, and other business processes. 

• Example: You get to achieve data consistency across platforms, minimize redundancies, and achieve a unified system tuned for business performance. 

Long-term cost-efficiency 

While custom solutions may involve higher upfront investment, they offer significant cost savings in the long run by eliminating unnecessary subscription fees and cutting operational bottlenecks. 

• Example: Customization allows businesses to avoid paying for unused features, lowering the chain management software cost over time. 

Summing it up

Modern retail business is a complex endeavor with many tasks and responsibilities to attend to. Providing an uninterrupted supply circulation is probably the most important and onerous given the challenges our globalized world pitches. Supply chain management software can radically streamline such efforts, facilitating workflow processes, curtailing expenditures, and boosting the company’s efficiency. 

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