E-BUSINESS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

E-Business Supply Chain Management, Strategy And Implementation

E-Business Supply Chain Management, Strategy And Implementation

Abstract

Through history, when new technologies were adopted results were reflected as productivity improvements and growth in economy. In business, efforts were focusing on how to improve processes inside firms where the implementation of new technologies as mechanized transportations and new telecommunication channels gave a big push for supply chain management. Now it's much easier for managers to plan, order, monitor, and evaluate the progress of any process.

Introduction

Supply Chain Management is about moving the goods and services from supplier to customers and then payments from the customers back to the suppliers in the most efficient way possible. (Keenan, 2000)E-business, is any business process relying on automated information system. More precisely (Business to consumer - Ecommerce), its transforming important business processes through the use of internet technologies.). Everybody is now aware that speed and response to customer demand is a key attribute to business success since customer loyalty can be won or lost on product availability and the only way to achieve this challenge is by well managing supply chain because recent researches have proved that problems in supply chain management can companies between 9% and 20% of their values over six months period. (Reese, 2004) The efficiency of supply chain depends largely on the flow of information, so gathering and analyzing information is very critical for the performance of the chain. Here comes the role of so called E-business which is much faster in terms of collecting and analyzing important information. Activities as acquiring suppliers, well managing the inventory and information about transportation are better handled by automated systems; otherwise it will be time consuming for the firms. (Schneider, 2009)

It seems interesting to explore the consequences from Implementing E-business (more precisely Information technology) in supply chain management, because it will help in decision making such as moving the right things to the right place and at the right time.

Discussion

The availability to the Internet has drastically increased over the years. This is one reason why more businesses are doing business over the Internet. In this paper I will describe what the business to consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) supply chains are and what is the difference between the two. One thing is certain that e-business has made doing business much easier for the customer whether that is a business or an individual. (Becker, 2000)

The B2B supply chain operation is more multifaceted than its counterpart, primarily because B2B manufacturers, wholesalers and distribution entities are characteristically working with bigger partners in the business community. For supply chain operations to function efficiently in a B2B or B2C atmosphere, the focal point has to be on offering consumers exemplary customer service. (Fuller, 2007)

Quite a few parallels exist between supply chain operations for B2B and B2C settings. Supply chain operations in B2B have to concentrate on a type of segmented market, made up of a wide variety of customers. This because B2B consumers usually have particular needs, such as consulting, ...