More than 10,000 customers worldwide count on CDC Software (News - Alert), an enterprise software applications and services company, to manage, bolster and transform their businesses. With a “customer-driven” approach, the company has found itself at the top of the CRM software market, as shown by its recent recognition as one of the industry’s top 15 CRM software solutions providers.

Back in 2010, CDC Software acquired TradeBeam, Inc., which boasted a suite of industry-leading software-as-a-service solutions in global trade management, collaborative inventory management and supply chain visibility. William Green, which leads CDC Software Enterprise, a portfolio that includes CDC TradeBeam, as well as CDC Supply Chain and e-commerce solutions, recently sat down with TMC CEO Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) prior to this week’s ITEXPO West 2011, which has been coined as this year’s largest communications technologies conference.

In the below interview, Green details the ever-changing market and how it’s impacting the company’s TradeBeam solution, as well as what attendees can expect from the company’s ITEXPO (News - Alert) booth and Green’s special ITEXPO session.

How has your market evolved over the past year and what trends have fueled those changes?

The majority of CDC TradeBeam’s market includes medium to large manufacturing organizations requiring supplier collaboration for inventory management, global trade compliance and visibility, and global trade finance. Because the economy is contracting and expanding at different rates and for different sectors globally, our market continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Our customers and prospects continue to experience competition and price pressures while aggressively moving to take advantage of new markets. Our solutions continuously develop with the market so our customers can continue to stay competitive. 

What do you see as the next disruptive force in technology and how will it impact your market or business?

The continued adoption of Internet and mobile technology will exponentially increase complexities in the supply chain. Examples of this include: Global e-commerce marketplaces with a growing number of consumer nodes and global compliance issues; increased supply chain management problems surrounding visibility, forecast complexity, and a proliferation of SKU’s and service levels; supplier management issues managing global suppliers, compliance, quality and continuity. 

How has the acceptance and adoption of the cloud model influenced your development cycle and process?

From inception, CDC TradeBeam’s solutions have focused on cloud-based offerings with global trade content and finance services behind them. With the value proposition proven and the market validated, it is easier to discuss these solutions with customers and prospects as they continue to become familiar with the model and reap their rewards.

What is the most common request you are seeing from your customers? How is your company addressing these demands?

Customers and prospects continue to ask for supply chain visibility and global trade compliance solutions. Through our full set of supply chain visibility, supplier collaboration and global trade management solutions combined with a rapid development cycle, we are able to offer a wide range of services and solutions for their needs.

What are you most looking forward to at ITEXPO West in Austin? What do you see as being the biggest trends at the show?

We are looking forward to meeting our customers and prospects in our core verticals such as transportation, retail and manufacturing, as well as attending the DHL Keynote speech with Matt Groppe. DHL is an industry leader who is known for setting the standards for global supply chain management. They’ve evolved with their market to include customized Web applications, supply chain visibility and global trade compliance. Their progressive thinking and perfected supply chain execution keeps them at the top.

Who should visit your booth at ITEXPO and why?

We invite you to attend our session, Make it, Sell it, Ship it: M2M and the Supply Chain, Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 3 p.m. I will be reviewing the relevant connection between people and M2M, how they fit in with the larger global supply chain management process, and how you can get started on your streamlined, compliant global supply chain. I look forward to seeing you there and helping you get started or move to the next level of supply chain execution.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.

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Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves