The Economist writes:
For the past 12 years, Bain & Company, a firm of consultants, has asked companies around the world how much they use such tools, and how satisfied they are with them. Its latest analysis, out this week, shows that strategic planning, used by almost four out of every five companies, is currently the most popular.
The biggest change in the past decade is the rise of tools that rely heavily on the use of information technology. IT-intensive techniques such as CRM, supply-chain management and knowledge management are each now used by more than half of all corporations. Executives told Bain that they are more satisfied with their supply-chain management systems than with any tool other than strategic planning.
Bain’s Darrell Rigby, founder of the survey, says managers are now particularly keen on anything that helps them get closer to their customers. Two-thirds say that insufficient customer insight is hurting their performance. Hence the steep rise in Customer Relationship Management (CRM)from seventh last time to second.
