Over the years, the complexity of supply chains and commerce has signifi cantly increased, and software vendors have continuously sought to provide solutions to support companies in managing these challenges. However, this landscape has shifted dramatically, observes Henri Seroux. The emergence of cloud-native, versionless, and highly extensible solutions for supply chain commerce now enables companies to make signifi cant strides in adapting their business operations at lightning speed in response to market and supply chain changes.

To truly grasp the impact of an innovation, it is essential to have historical awareness, something Henri Seroux, Senior Vice President EMEA at Manhattan Associates, possesses in abundance. Having joined Manhattan nearly a quarter of a century ago, Seroux has witnessed firsthand how major retailers, wholesalers, and brand manufacturers have evolved. His observations reveal that their operations have grown increasingly complex, with supply chains expanding across larger parts of the globe, both upstream and downstream. Raw materials, components, and finished products are now sourced globally and sold everywhere, often through multiple sales and distribution channels, including owned stores, outlets, web shops, and marketplaces. “And what we consider big today is very different from what it was 25 years ago”, Seroux explains. “Retailers and brand manufacturers have seen explosive growth. Companies that once had turnovers between one and five billion euros are now reaching 20 to 30 billion euros. This is mirrored in the massive growth of their distribution centres and transport networks.”

Omni commerce

Another factor driving the increasing complexity is the transformation in consumer behaviour. In today’s omni commerce era, everything revolves around the ‘blue dot consumer’ - the always-connected shopper who expects to get whatever they want, whenever and wherever they want it (read Ken Hughes’ article to learn more). This shift has created sky-high expectations for the speed, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness of service. “Consumers now expect to be served faster and with greater flexibility than ever before, all at minimal cost,” Seroux points out. “We are also seeing this trend extend to B2B customers, who are beginning to emulate the behaviours of B2C shoppers. Retailers, wholesalers, and brand manufacturers alike are grappling with the challenge of meeting these high customer expectations while still delivering on shareholder demands.”

Simultaneously, companies face increasing pressure to make their operations more sustainable. This pressure is driven not only by market forces but also by regulatory requirements such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). These directives compel companies to demonstrate accountability in their sustainability efforts and report on their progress. “There is a growing recognition within the business community that carbon footprints must be reduced,” Seroux says. “And the supply chain plays a significant role in that carbon footprint.”

“Retailers, wholesalers, and brand manufacturers alike are grappling with the challenge of meeting high customer expectations.”

High cost

Despite the evolving landscape, companies’ expectations for the systems that drive their supply chains and meet customer promises have remained largely the same. They need scalable solutions that provide sufficient computing power and memory capacity to handle the growing volumes of data at any time. As a result, there is a constant demand for more servers equipped with the world’s most powerful processors, which comes at a steep cost. “It’s like building a church for Easter Sunday,” Seroux remarks, highlighting that the extra capacity needed for peak times is not required throughout most of the year.

Furthermore, companies expect their systems to cater specifically to their unique needs. They want solutions that not only reflect their business’s distinctiveness but also offer more functionality and flexibility than traditional customised software solutions. “At Manhattan, we have almost always managed to meet these expectations, but it has come at a high cost in terms of expensive software customisations,” Seroux acknowledges. “These customisations also complicate upgrades, making them difficult, time-consuming and costly.”

Companies are also looking for standardised solutions that are easy to implement globally. This demand has driven Manhattan’s transformation over the past 20 years, from a software vendor with a small international presence to a global leader in supply chain commerce solutions.

New technologies

The increasing complexity of supply chains has generated new needs, such as the integration of distribution centres and transportation networks. This need has led to the development of interfaces that link disparate warehouse and transportation management systems. Seroux has seen companies consistently adopt new technologies to stay competitive, including RFID for improving inventory accuracy, voice recognition for optimising order picking, and advanced material handling systems like sorters and shuttles to boost throughput in distribution centres. In recent years, the adoption of robotics has surged, with automated storage and retrieval systems enabling compact storage and efficient picking, and autonomous mobile robots reducing travel distances within warehouses.

Companies expect their warehouse management systems to support these new technologies and processes. To meet this demand, Manhattan has engaged in numerous intensive dialogues and projects with customers, resulting in a new, innovation-packed version of its WMS each year. However, to benefit from these innovations, companies often had to upgrade all their distribution centres to the latest version - a process that could span several years.

“The dreams remain the same, but the way we make those dreams a reality has fundamentally improved.”

Radical breakthrough

Over the past four years, Seroux has witnessed a radical shift in how businesses are supported, made possible by Manhattan’s substantial investments in a common cloud architecture - the Manhattan Active Technology Platform - for its warehouse management, transportation management, and order management systems. These cloud-native solutions provide companies with continuous access to the latest innovations without the need for new version implementations. Because these systems share the same architecture, they work seamlessly, unlocking unprecedented value creation opportunities. “The dreams companies have remain the same, but the way we make those dreams a reality has fundamentally improved,” Seroux asserts.

The transformative impact of these innovations is evident in the growing number of sites benefiting from the new capabilities without needing to upgrade. Seroux shares examples such as a company that deployed a new WMS across 48 distribution centres in two years and a global consumer goods manufacturer that rolled out the system at 15 sites in 10 countries, spanning various divisions with distinct processes and technologies. Another notable case involves an automotive parts company that unifi ed its warehouse and transportation processes with a unique Manhattan supply chain execution solution.

Effortless scaling

The cloud has eliminated the high costs traditionally associated with scaling systems. With cloud-native solutions, companies gain unlimited access to the computing power and memory they need, automatically scaling up as required without additional costs or effort. “Impatience is no longer a problem for companies,” Seroux notes. “And because our systems operate in the cloud, businesses can be confi dent that all their sites are always running on the same version. This uniformity provides IT departments with greater transparency and more opportunities to adjust or intervene when necessary.”

The benefits of a cloud-native architecture are further demonstrated by Manhattan’s recent development of enAI solutions, such as Manhattan Assist, a tool that provides immediate answers to users’ questions about the Manhattan Active solutions they are using. “In a few years, the adoption of cloud-native, versionless systems like Manhattan Active will become the industry standard,” Seroux predicts. “But companies that invest in these technologies now will be able to gain a significant head start.”

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