Logistics and electronic commerce: An interorganizational systems perspective

The coordination of activities within supply chains using information technology can be described as taking place using two broad types of mechanisms, both of which use intermediaries to carry out logistics activities. These are electronic hierarchies, consisting of legally separate firms that share a close relationship within a supply chain, and electronic markets characterized by short-term linkages that result from individual transactions. A key influence of information technology on logistics is the emergence of separate but linked intermediaries for handling physical goods and the information associated with those goods.