Overview of the Information Technology Services Industry

The global IT (information technology) services industry includes services related to the application of technical and business expertise that enables organizations to create, optimize, manage, and access information and business processes. The information technology services industry’s scope includes product support services such as software and hardware maintenance and professional services such as IT consulting and integration services. The increasing global demand for systems, software, and services, as well as IT spending by governments, and banking and financial sectors are likely to spur the growth of the information technology services industry.

However, a few factors are expected to influence the growth of the information technology services industry. These factors include:

• Planning and risk management: To stay efficient and effective across the information technology services industry, timely assessments are needed. These modifications are in response to changes in the market including global sourcing, new product launches, credit availability and the requirement to protect intellectual property. Moreover, these risks must be identified and quantified to control and mitigate.
• Supplier relationship management: It is essential to create, comprehend and follow mutually agreed upon standards to better understand the current performance and opportunities for improvement. Moreover, having two different methods for communicating and measuring performance results in a waste of time and effort.

Many such factors are compelling information technology services industry firms to leverage the use of supply chain management solutions.

The Business Challenge and Journey

The client, a leading information technology services provider with business units spread across the globe was facing challenges in the overall supply chain visibility and performance measurement. Additionally, they had complex relationships with shipping lines and freight forwarders. The client also had a lack of unified procedures across product groups.

To help the client achieve a stable operating platform, the supply chain management specialists at SpendEdge developed a robust market research approach. The analysis included primary and secondary research coupled with qualitative and quantitative data collection methodology.

During the course of this engagement, the information technology services provider was able to devise an innovative, international supply chain with a stable operating platform. This helped them streamline operations, eliminate original bill of ladings, and the letters of credits. Additionally, the client selected carriers with reliable services and implemented carrier performance measurements.

Key questions answered in this supply chain management engagement

The Results

With the help of this supply chain management engagement, the client was able to implement a more sophisticated reporting tool for their sourcing and procurement processes. Additionally, the client was able to select carriers for major trade lanes based on three criterias: fast transit time, reliable service and reasonable price.

To know more about our supply chain management solutions