INFORMATION SYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT - CASE STUDY

All around us, due to advancing technology, evolve faster than ever before. Nothing has rocked the way in which companies do business as the emergence of the Internet. Market forces, conducted by the speed of communications that is facilitated by electronic networks, are making product life cycles shorter and shorter. Customer needs and tastes change rapidly. Product inventories are always in danger of becoming obsolete. To counter this tendency, organizations are increasing their expertise and efficiencies in the process of designing and producing new products and in the process of delivering and servicing existing products. Companies that develop higher skill levels in these areas are clearly better able to ride the waves of change and profit from developments in the markets they serve. The processes involved in the designing, building, and delivering of products to the customers that need them have come to be collectively referred to as supply chain management. Electronic management of business supply chains coordinates all business partners in the supply chain over electronic networks and gives all parties an up-to-the-minute overview of all available inventories. Due to the numerous challenges and difficulties that firms face in present's rapidly changing business environment, establishing an effective supply chain is becoming a core competency for many organisations. Effective supply chain management is no longer an option; it is a requirement for survival. Companies within the supply chain must reach new levels of communication and cooperation.