CSO versus CIO: Who should choose supply chain software

August 11, 2015 - Research P141

The purchase of supply chain software often pits the chief supply chain officer (CSO) against the company’s chief information officer (CIO.) A recent Nucleus Research survey of supply chain executives found that 85 percent of them said that the CIO has influence over any supply chain software buy and 42 percent said the CIO has the final say. Although the CSO and CIO obviously need to be involved in selecting supply chain applications, it’s the chief financial officer (CFO) who must cast the deciding vote, determining the software selection based on which application offers the fastest return on investment (ROI) for the enterprise.