ARMONK, N.Y., Oct. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM)
today introduced a new integrated supply chain suite, embedded with
Watson AI and IBM Blockchain and open to developers, to help
organizations make their supply chains smarter, more efficient and
better able to make decisions to adjust to disruptions and
opportunities in an era when globalization has made supplier
networks more complex and vulnerable than ever.
The new IBM Sterling Supply Chain Suite, built on the
market-leading foundation of Sterling B2B Network and Sterling
Order Management, enables manufacturers, retailers and other types
of businesses to integrate critical data, business networks and
supply chain processes while capitalizing on the benefits of
technologies like Watson AI, IBM Blockchain and the Internet of
Things (IoT). These intelligent, self-correcting supply chains are
designed to learn from experience, creating greater reliability,
transparency and security while providing new competitive
advantages.
With this launch, IBM is delivering a secured, open platform
with hybrid-cloud support that enables organizations to integrate
their own data and networks – and the data and networks of their
suppliers and customers – with the Sterling Supply Chain Suite.
This flexibility enables enterprises to update and tailor their
supply-chain solutions to meet their unique business needs. The
open-architecture capabilities are strengthened by IBM's recent
acquisition of Red Hat, the world's leading provider of enterprise
open-source solutions.
"Supply chains are now mission-critical systems for all
businesses to drive success and profitability," said Bob Lord, Senior Vice President, Cognitive
Applications and Developer Ecosystems, IBM. "Many organizations
have risen to the top of their industries by building efficient and
agile supply chains. By modernizing supply chains on top of open,
hybrid-cloud platforms and infusing Watson AI, IBM Blockchain and
IoT into their networks, the IBM Sterling Supply Chain Suite can
help companies across all industries enter a new era of global
competitiveness.''
IBM sees a $50 billion market in
technologies that will enable global businesses to digitally
transform their supply chains. "IBM," Lord said, "means to be
number one in that market."
Current IBM Sterling clients include leading companies in
distribution, industrial manufacturing, retail, and financial
services, such as Adidas, AmerisourceBergen, Fossil, Greenworks,
Home Depot, Lenovo, Li & Fung, Misumi, Parker
Hannifin, Scotiabank, and Whirlpool Corporation.
With retail locations across Spain and Portugal and operations in many other
countries through resellers and e-commerce, El Corte Ingles,
headquartered in Madrid, is the
biggest department store group in Europe.
"The complex, global nature of our omni-channel operations
presents a significant supply chain challenge that could be turned
into a business opportunity, if the right technology is applied,"
said Juan Andres Pro Dios, CIO, El
Corte Ingles. "The IBM Sterling Supply Chain Suite provides open
development capabilities that let us quickly tailor solutions to
meet our unique business needs. This allows us to embrace
operational complexity while optimizing operational performance and
improving omni-channel customer experiences."
"Publicis Sapient's global brand is tested daily in our client
engagements as we collaborate to modernize purpose-built supply
chain solutions. Speed and delivery are essential to our shared
success," said Chris Davey, Chief
Strategist, Publicis Sapient. "How we transform supply chain is in
the ability to quickly customize solutions by empowering clients
with APIs, reusable assets and connectors to incorporate
third-party applications and data, while connecting to critical
business networks to extend the IBM Sterling Supply Chain Suite in
ways that drive competitive differentiation for our clients."
The Importance of Open, Trusted Collaboration
IBM
believes the global economy is becoming ever more reliant on the
interactions of connected companies that can tap into data troves
from sources like IoT, GPS positioning and continuous weather
monitoring. In this data-rich environment, the potential business
value of the modern supply chain has never been higher.
And yet, critical business relationships often hinge on
continuous collaboration, transparency and trust to succeed. While
some applications and processes must remain safely tucked inside an
organization's four walls, many others must find their way to the
cloud to take full advantage of the benefits of AI-enabled open
collaboration by companies, suppliers and customers.
"Optimizing individual supply chain functions and processes has
helped enterprises progress as far as they can,'' said Simon Ellis, Vice President, IDC. ''But the
growing complexity of global supply chains continues to increase
beyond the capabilities of traditional or legacy
systems."
The IBM Sterling Supply Chain Suite's open, integrated platform
easily connects to each supply chain's unique supplier ecosystem.
Innovations include:
- Trusted connectivity built to scale, backed by IBM
Blockchain. The IBM Sterling Supply Chain Suite provides
frictionless, secured connectivity and collaboration with
customers, partners and suppliers. Enterprises can quickly leverage
IBM Sterling's existing multi-enterprise business network, a
community of more than 800,000 preconnected trading partners
executing 3 billion transactions a year.
- Real-time intelligence and actionable recommendations.
Applications and control towers, embedded with AI and trained in
supply chain, provide end-to-end visibility, real-time alerts and
recommendations that can be automated for self-correcting actions
to drive better business outcomes. Clients using individual
Sterling applications, such as IBM Sterling Fulfillment Optimizer
with Watson, in their supply
chains today have lowered shipping cost per order by an average of
7 percent. IBM has also deployed these Sterling capabilities in its
own global supply chain to reduce disruption mitigation time from
days to hours, becoming 95 percent more efficient at tackling
recurring supply chain challenges.
- Open to developers to create tailored solutions. The IBM
Sterling Supply Chain Suite allows systems integrators and
developers to build, extend and integrate tailored supply chain
solutions that can interoperate with other business networks and
applications. It also enables clients to bring in third party data,
so that all connected applications and networks can benefit from
it. The Suite's Developer Hub provides a global community of
developers, open-source programs and a library of knowledge
resources to help quickly solve unique supply chain
challenges.
- Hybrid-cloud integration to extend existing supply chain
investments. Instead of requiring time-consuming and expensive
migrations, the Suite's enterprise-ready containerized software,
along with IBM Cloud Paks, allows clients to extend the value and
reach of their legacy applications and data. This hybrid approach
means clients have the freedom to choose where to run their
workloads and the ability to link them to value-added services in
the IBM Sterling Supply Chain Suite. For example, once certified,
IBM Sterling Order Management containers for Red Hat OpenShift will
allow clients to continue to run their software in their own
datacenter – or in any cloud.
About IBM Sterling Supply Chain
IBM Sterling Supply Chain solutions empower IT and supply chain
professionals with greater visibility, transparency and trust to
proactively predict and mitigate disruption, improve B2B
information flow, and optimize inventory utilization and
fulfillment. Learn how our AI- and blockchain-enabled solutions
help you build an intelligent, self-correcting supply chain
at www.ibm.com/supply-chain.
Media Contacts:
Jenny Taylor
IBM Media Relations
Jenny.taylor@ibm.com
310-849-0648
Lowell Eschen
IBM Media Relations
Lowell.eschen@ibm.com
303-913-2569
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SOURCE IBM