E-Business Principles, Trends and Visions

Supply chain management (SCM) and e-business are changing the way businesses operate. E-business has become an integral part of supply chain management and has become a powerful and compelling enabler of supply chain integration across a wide range of industries. As a result of e-business, successful organisations are those that can collaborate and work openly across virtual global networks, linking members of a supply chain. E-business approaches can go a long way towards fostering the necessary level of trust and commitment required to achieve not only the technology commitment for supply chain integration but also the organisational co-operation that is required. This chapter introduces e-business and explores the principles, trends and visions for organisations wishing to operate in a digital environment.