Sixth, there are tangible cost reductions possible by using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications rented over the Internet vs. buying customer relationship management systems and installing them in a company. Significant and tangible cost reductions are possible using Salesforce.com for example over purchasing Oracle Corporations' CRM Suite, or using manually-based systems based on Microsoft Excel or Word.
Seventh, tangible cost reductions are possible by using project management software to manage the many dependencies and deadlines in a project vs. simply tracking all activities in a spreadsheet. Project management software is specifically designed to track deadlines and the resources needed to attain them, and can also load balance resources to attain multiple and often conflicting goals. It greatly reduces tangible costs of both the project and greatly minimizes the risk of a missed deadline as well in this area.
Another tangible area of cost reduction for it is in the managing inventories in a company. This eighth tangible area of cost reduction has to do with the ability to know inventory positions and also track the movement of inventory in and out of a distribution center. In addition,...
Called the area of Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) it contributes to significant reductions in the costs of tracking returned products, managing the costs of warranty repairs, and also tracking the costs associated with charging for service. Taken together the entire area of service management has seen tangible cost reductions due to it.
The tenth area where many companies see tangible cost reductions is in using it to better manage their supply chains. The ability to work more closely with suppliers has a multiplicative effect on tangible cost savings starting first with production centers who run out of product less often when it-based systems are coordinating with suppliers. In addition the ability to take advantage of quantity discounts from suppliers is easier accomplished using it systems to track when discounts are due.
