A company plans to implement a new software application for inventory optimization.

Purchase vs. Develop In-House: Purchasing software rather than developing it in-house saves significant time, as the development process is lengthy and requires extensive testing and debugging.

Cloud Hosting Benefits: Hosting on secure cloud servers eliminates the need for setting up and configuring hardware infrastructure, which can be time-consuming. Cloud hosting providers often offer robust security, scalability, and maintenance, further reducing implementation time.

Customization and Integration: Customizing purchased software or integrating it with existing systems (Options C and D) generally increases the complexity and duration of the implementation process. Therefore, simply purchasing and hosting the software on the cloud (Option A) is the most time-efficient approach.

References

Jacobs, F. R., Chase, R. B., & Lummus, R. R. (2014). "Operations and Supply Chain Management." McGraw-Hill Education.

Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminsky, P., & Simchi-Levi, E. (2008). "Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies, and Case Studies." McGraw-Hill.