I am a great supporter of SaaS ( Software as a service) simply because businesses should get going with business and IT should be a facilitator. In house IT departments should be focusing on the business application end of things. Several thinkers believe that software will become like electricity which started originally with generators at your factory and then moved to the distribution model that has electricity companies piping the electricity from the power station to your factory. Therefore, I was rather pleased to read the report that a SaaS based supply chain system as been developed for the LCBO. 
The LCBO or the Liquor Control Board of Ontario is apparently the largest buyer of liquor in the world with over 600 stores and 5 distribution centers in the Ontario region of Canada. The LCBO website is rather fun although the "Control Board" conjures up a somewhat stern image ! The story of the SaaS system appeared as a press release here. The company that has developed the web based supply chain solution is QLogitek. Since the whole system is web based suppliers can simply login and offer new products. Since wines are an important product category for LCBO one can visualize the endless vintages and now countries that are involved! With a web based system that connects suppliers in different countries with warehouses and retailers in Ontario by every product offering in real time should make life much easier for all concerned. Cheers to that !
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Interesting app that makes sense, unfortunately in Qlogitek’s core business EDI SAAS makes absolutely no sense. Too many companies have implemetned poorly designed EDI and e-commerce systems that make the industry look bad across the board. The ROI on a properly installed inhouse system with proper support is far cheaper than an outsourced system. The bigger issue with inhouse or outsourced is crappy data. This is where the costs are and unfortunately people see the system as the issue and the cost. Every company needs a Chief Data Officer (CDO) but none have them !