The worldwide supply chain management software market returned to double-digit growth in 2010, with SCM software revenue touching USD 6.8 billion, a 10 per cent increase vis-a-vis the previous calendar year, according to IT research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.

In 2009, the market experienced a 2.1 per cent decline, with revenue of USD 6.1 billion.

"Despite a difficult selling environment, the current market for SCM shows signs of renewed health. The market for supply chain applications was more resilient than most in 2009 and rebounded well in 2010," said Gartner Research Director Chad Eschinger.

"Pure-play vendors and specialised (point solutions) vendors drove a majority of the overall market's growth in 2010, outpacing enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite providers' growth three to one, and, in general terms, we are seeing consistent momentum across all market segments," he added.

SAP continued to lead the SCM software market, accounting for 19.5 per cent of the worldwide market. Oracle was the No.

2 vendor with a 17.9 per cent market share. JDA Software experienced the strongest growth among the top five vendors, with 40.2 per cent growth in 2010.

Eschinger said vendor movement has been characterised by partnering, some new sales emphasis beyond North America and improved packaging and delivery options, as well as new product releases.

Through 2010, SCM product development was generally focused more on solutions integration, business process platforms and mobility, Gartner said. Vendors continued to show signs of resiliency and innovation, as some of them transformed themselves to support changing user requirements and expanded their reach into additional SCM markets.

North America and Western Europe continued to be the prime consumers of SCM software in terms of dollars spent, with nearly 79 per cent of market revenue. However, the Asia-Pacific and Latin America experienced robust growth in 2010 that significantly outpaced the market