Maintaining the flow of goods, information, and financials through a supply chain is essential to many types of business.

Written by John Ghrist

Any business that deals with physical products requires some kind of a supply chain. Controlling a business supply chain is the bailiwick of a class of software products called supply chain management (SCM) applications.

There are different approaches to integrating labeling and RFID tags with your System i database, and some are easier to manage than others.

Written by Thomas M. Stockwell

Editor's Note: This article is an extraction of the white paper "Bar Code/RFID Label Printing, Avoiding the Integration Traps," which is available free from the MC Press White Paper Center.

Automated Data Collection (ADC) technologies that use bar code and radio frequency identification (RFID) labels have revolutionized how our products are packaged and transported through our supply chains. Bar code labels are now so common on products that they are considered to be the status quo for identifying and routing packages in transit. RFID tag technologies are also making tremendous headway in managing inventory at receiving docks and warehouses for many of the largest retail and government supply chains. How can we assure that these systems give us the best return on investment?

Increase your company's bottom line while enhancing service and increasing your competitive profile.

Written by Rich Ollari

Editor's Note: This article introduces two free resources available to you:

• "Converging Voice and Business Applications: A Practical Approach," a white paper available from the MC Press White Paper Center  
• "Smart Voice Integrations on IBM i: How to Innovate, Empower Users and Cut Costs," an accompanying Webinar from the MC Press Webcast Center

Recent technological advances in "voice integration" are enabling small and medium-sized organizations to increase service levels while dramatically decreasing costs.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications bring multiple aspects of the buyer and seller exchange together.

Written by John Ghrist

A survey of top business executives conducted in 2008 jointly by Gartner and Forbes Insights identified "high-quality customer care" as the leading corporate attribute "most key to sustaining long-term growth in a recession." Ranking not too far behind that attribute in the same survey was having good "customer or market intelligence."

Assuming these findings are still true in 2009, it follows that software applications designed to help meet those needs have high importance. This creates a new emphasis on a need for CRM applications.

Surviving through a tough market requires customers and suppliers to break down their silos to effectively work together and share data and knowledge.

Written by David Brault

Editor's Note: This article contains excerpts from "Supply Chain Synchronization: Recession-proof Strategies for Improving Efficiencies," a free white paper that you can download from the MC White Paper Center.

Whether you're a supplier, distributor, manufacturer, or retailer, the supply chain is the "lifeblood" of your organization. Like the circulatory system of the human body, the supply chain plays a vital role in the overall health of your business. If your company is starting to feel a tingling sensation in the left arm of your supply chain, then information bottlenecks and manual procedures are most likely blocking the main arteries of your supply chain network.

With Infor's New CRM i Edition, users can have an integrated view of both customer and financial data, all from a Web browser.

Written by Chris Smith

While it seems that doubt about the IBM i platform permeates every conversation regarding the future of the IBM midrange platform, there is one company that continues to believe in the platform from both a technical as well as a business standpoint, and I'm not referring to IBM.

With budgets tight, anything free that can materially improve business efficiency is a sure winner.

Written by Chris Smith

The economy is pressuring people in odd ways and seems to be making some people more self-centered. So when you run across a business person who takes the opposite tack and makes a deliberate gesture of generosity--whether or not it costs them anything--you take note and smile and perhaps listen to what they have to say. I received such a gesture in an email today in the form of someone who was recommending to his clients that they try a free CRM solution for which he provided the link.