London, 9 March, 2012 – A new report from Aite Group discusses the target markets, software functionalities, delivery models, client segmentation, and partnership strategies of global supply chain finance (SCF) software vendors; it also assesses the software applications and services vendors that operate in the developing SCF market. Based on a June to September 2011 Aite Group survey of 21 global players in the SCF software market, this report—a companion to Aite Group’s February 2012 report, Supply Chain Finance Software Vendors: Part One—completes our look into this in-depth space with profiles of 12 SCF vendors.

Companies around the world are feeling pressure to revise their strategies for managing working capital. As companies increasingly operate their supply chains globally, many seek new ways to manage the flow of funds through the supply chain. Given that many companies serve as both buyer and supplier, the benefits of an SCF software solution must address both sides of the value chain. Current product offerings and marketing messages circumscribe SCF to “supplier” (i.e., buyer-centric) finance; these solutions address the buyer/supplier relationship but fail to address end-to-end supply chain processes. Aite Group asserts that SCF should encompass the financial approaches and instruments that optimize the transactions, working capital, and costs of all supply chain processes, from product design to after-sales management and through procurement, manufacturing, warehouse management, and distribution. True SCF software vendors are those developing and commercializing application suites that apply to the entirety of these processes—not solely to the buyer/supplier portion.

“The SCF software market is reaching a stage of maturity and expectations are growing,” says Enrico Camerinelli, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of this report. “Past is the time for ‘beauty contest’ assessments of features and functionality. Visibility into vendors’ capabilities will help market players address business processes and transactions.”

The report profiles supply chain finance solutions offered by Ariba, Bottomline Technologies, CGI, Earthport, GSCF, Nucleus Software, Premium Technology, S1, SunGard, Syncada, TradeCard, and Tradeshift. See part one of this report for profiles of nine additional vendors: ACI, Asyx, aurionPRO, Corporate LinX, Demica, Fundtech, Misys, Polaris Software, and Taulia.

This 73-page Impact Report contains 50 figures and four tables. Clients of Aite Group’s Wholesale Banking service can download the report.