The e-supply chain portal: a core business model

Information technology can help to overcome the problems that plague many supply chains. Electronic exchange of information leads to reduction of errors and increased efficiency of the work processes. When one company can use the information of other companies in the supply chain, the negative effects of uncertainty can be mitigated in theory. In practice, however, the exchange of information between companies is not as easy as it seems. Many different systems and standards are used, the number of peer-to-peer relations with other companies in the network is usually too large to manage, most systems are not open for easy exchange of information with other systems, and most companies are very reluctant to share information with other companies in the first place.A portal looks like a good solution to overcome these problems. Standardized interactions with one portal are easier to manage than are many peer-to-peer relations. The portal can take the role of a trusted party. What is needed to accomplish portal effectiveness is a review of the business processes when dealing with other companies. In this paper, we advocate a radical simplification of these business processes, and provide support for the end-to-end character of the supply chain in real time. Specifically, we report on a pilot project for the US Department of Defense to create a portal for supply chain integration. The project showed the feasibility of real-time support for end-to-end supply chain management in a complex organization.