Supply Chain Integration Over the Internet

Abstract

The Internet has emerged as the most cost effective means of driving supply chain integration. We define e-Business as the marriage between the Internet and supply chain integration. We divide various forms of e-Business applications into three categories-e-Commerce, e-Procurement, and e-Collaboration. e-Commerce helps a network of supply chain partners to identify and respond quickly to changing customer demand captured over the Internet. e-Procurement allows companies to use the Internet for procuring direct or indirect materials, as well as handling value-added services like transportation, warehousing, customs clearing, payment, quality validation, and documentation. e-Collaboration facilitates coordination of various decisions and activities beyond transactions among the supply chainpartners over the Internet. This article studies various e-Business applications and discusses the potential of e-Business for building intelligence and optimization.