Roundup: Catalog Fulfillment and Operations

A related issue to examine closely: in-house vs. outside systems development. More companies (17 of the 22 catalogs) are developing some of their own IT systems in-house, according to our study. And of the remaining five, two have their own programmers.

Whether it makes sense for your company to develop its own software and systems depends on the complexity of your operations and what you need IT to accomplish. Most often, catalogers use a combination of commercial systems and proprietary, custom-developed applications. For catalogers that are non-developers, a key question to ask is: Are commercial software vendors providing the needed functionality at a competitive price?