The results of a recent Aberdeen outsourcing survey of more than 300 organizations of all revenue classes launched during December 2007 shows that small businesses (with annual revenues of up to $50 million U.S. dollars) are reporting a major uptick in demand for supply chain management (SCM) services.

Small-business owners are often forced to spend an inordinate amount of time managing vendor relationships, rather than focusing on core competencies. Although small companies with simple operations can often take care of supply chain management activities in-house, as volume grows or delivery complexity increases, the time and effort required to manage the supply chain grow sharply.

Attending to requests for information and managing transactions along the supply chain are vital to avoid customer dissatisfaction brought on by late deliveries and poor response timing. In most cases, it makes more sense to work with SCM outsourcing providers. Small businesses are now seeking help with SCM activities ranging from help desks and order entry to contract management, logistics support, and compliance and performance management.

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