Apty: Why Data is Vital to Supply Chain Management

An experienced supply chain management (SCM) executive, Matt Palackdharry became Chief Strategy Officer at Apty – a software enablement and value realisation platform – in 2023. 

One of his first initiatives in the role has involved using SCM as a software vertical. This means Apty customers adopting SCM software solutions have a way to effectively on-board and train employees for total user adoption, maximising digital investments through a digital adoption platform (DAP).

It's a relatively small initiative that has been shown to increase productivity and efficiency while ensuring proper use of applications, resulting in real-time and accurate data to support innovation and cost savings. 

Before joining Apty, Matt was on the executive team that rebranded Vinimaya as Aquiire and sold it to Coupa in 2018. The Coupa Marketplace module, which Aquiire subsequently became, is now the top-selling S2P marketplace in the world.

After Aquiire, he was part of the executive team that transformed Tealbook, increasing its value from US$10m to US$285m. 

Here, Supply Chain Digital speaks to Matt about DAPs and how they can help businesses harness the power of data for their supply chain management.

What does Apty do and who are its customers?

Apty ensures software is used effectively, maximising the value of your investment. As a leading enterprise DAP, its features help organisations accelerate software adoption, enhance user productivity, shorten time to value and maximise software ROI through meaningful use. 

Apty serves customers across multiple industries but, with its heavy focus on ERP users, many are in manufacturing.

There’s a mind-boggling statistic that anywhere from 55-75% of ERP projects fail, signifying low employee usage or lack of an adoption plan. The key to making sure your ERP implementation doesn’t get derailed is effective training – and that’s where DAPs like Apty come in.

With enterprise DAPs, training becomes an interactive, ongoing process instead of a finite exercise. 

Tell us a bit more about digital adoption platforms

A DAP sits on top of any web-based application to ensure successful software adoption by creating a simplified and positive user experience. It provides interactive, in-app and cross-application step-by-step guidance and tutorials to help users navigate software seamlessly, particularly valuable for onboarding new employees.

DAPs offer contextual support, real-time assistance and user analytics to identify pain points and optimise workflows. They help not only with software adoption but also with process adoption and ROI from tech investments.

According to Gartner, 70% of organisations will use DAPs within their technology stack to overcome still-insufficient application user experiences by 2025, primarily in the areas of sales force automation, human resources, ERP and customer support. 

Apty is now focused on making sure SCM is similarly prioritised.

Why are DAPs so important to the supply chain?

A large part of why ERP and supply chain implementations fail has to do with basic human psychology.

Humans are hardwired for consistency and sameness. Our brains, circuited for efficiency, prefer the predictability of what is known over the uncertainty of the new. When new ERP or supply chain software is introduced, cognitive dissonance sets in. This isn’t just stubbornness; it’s a primal response to perceived instability. 

DAPs help organisations overcome these challenges and address the fundamental human resistance to change, ensuring SCM software is used correctly, thereby pre-empting data quality issues. 

For supply chain software, DAPs – ensuring that users use the software correctly – help to pre-emptively stave off data quality issues. Accurate data is the foundation for better decision-making across the supply chain, including logistics, partner management, and predictions.

Overall, DAPs empower supply chain professionals to navigate intricate systems effectively, ultimately improving operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and supply chain performance.  

What kinds of data issues do customers encounter?

Data quality issues often stem from entry errors, outdated information or process misunderstandings.

Apty's DAP mitigates these problems by streamlining data entry, enforcing compliance through automated workflows and providing targeted training. This ensures data integrity, which is foundational for strategic decision-making.

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