694 Best Practice in Leveraging E-Business Technologies to Achieve Business Agility E-Business Application Levels Marketing Management Selling Management Customer-Service Management %HQH¿WV SC Visibility (Information Sharing) Capturing feedback from the customers, providing a mix of products and service offerings customized to customer needs Providing up-sell and cross-sell product recommendations and product bundles, ÀH[LEOHSULFLQJPRGHOV for markdown and rebates Providing service order status and highlighting exceptions x Publicizing product information x Increasing customer satisfaction x Reduce Inv. Work-Flow Automation Capturing log records for every visit of a user in WKH:HEVHUYHUV¶ORJ¿OH including pages visited, duration of the visit, and whether there was a purchase, demand collaboration with customers 3URGXFWFRQ¿JXUDWLRQ quotation processing Service order logging, billing of services x Better prediction of customer demand x Improving response time x Improving productivity Integrated SC Planning Considering the supply-chain constraints while executing the marketing campaigns, SURYLGLQJFXVWRPHUSUR¿OLQJ and segmentation Supporting different channels for order capturing (Web based, call center, EDI, phone, e-mail, or personnel meeting) Warranty check, service order processing, integrating the call center x Increasing revenues and SUR¿W x Creating new market/ distribution channels x Accurate promising date New Innovative Processes 5HDOWLPHSUR¿OLQJWKDWWUDFNV the user click stream, allows the analysis of customer behavior, and makes instantaneous adjustments to the site’s promotional offers and Web pages 2QOLQHÀH[LEOH FRQ¿JXUDWLRQDQGUHDO time promise date Dealing with products and services as one package during selling x Long-term relationship and trust with the customer x Gaining competitive advantage Work-Flow Automation Consistent process with friendly user interface 8QL¿HGGHPDQG plan across different departments Exception work- ÀRZUHVROXWLRQIRU demand changes and IXO¿OOPHQWGHOD\V x Increasing HI¿FLHQF\ x Fast response Integrated SC Planning Integration with strategic sourcing to reduce supplier base Synchronized marketing, sales, production, and procurement plans CPFR x Speed x Accuracy New Innovative Processes SC redesign Mass customization Build to order x Flexibility x Penetrating new markets x Customer satisfaction Table 4. continued Table 5. The impact of e-business application levels on CRM processes 695 Best Practice in Leveraging E-Business Technologies to Achieve Business Agility A FRAMEWORK FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF E-BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES Many companies are struggling with implement- ing e-business technologies and achieving the promised value or ROI. In addition, companies are looking for guidelines and strategies for ongoing operational management and support after the go-live, which includes rolling more customers, suppliers, and new business units when imple- menting e-business solutions to improve SRM, SCM, and CRM superprocesses. According to a survey of 451 senior executives, RQHLQHYHU\¿YHXVHUVUHSRUWHGWKDWWKHLU&50 LQLWLDWLYHVQRWRQO\KDGIDLOHGWRGHOLYHUSUR¿WDEOH growth, but also had damaged long-standing cus- tomer relationships (Rigby et al., 2002). Currently, there is uncertainty and doubt among organizations regarding the new Internet technologies, and although the appeal for best SUDFWLFHDQGWKHEHQH¿WVRILPSOHPHQWLQJHEXVL- ness technologies are clear, enterprises struggle in integrating them into supply-chain operations because they are encountered by many challenges like the inability to master change management, the need for new skills to support processes that span across suppliers and partners, the need for e-business strategy and continuous upper manage- ment support, the lack of comprehensive metrics and continuous monitoring, and the inability to select the right software-providing partner. Figure 2 is proposed to address these chal- lenges and provide best-practice guidelines to implement e-business program transformation successfully. E-Business Strategy and Goals $FOHDUVWUDWHJ\LVWKH¿UVWVWHSIRUDVXFFHVVIXO transformation. Executives need to understand the big picture, the interactions between all the processes, and the e-business applications to help them in creating an e-business strategy. Benchmarking Benchmarking is the process of comparing and HYDOXDWLQJD¿U PRUDVXSSO\FKDLQDJDLQVWRWKHUV in the industry to help in identifying the gaps and Figure 2. Framework for implementing e-business transformation programs 696 Best Practice in Leveraging E-Business Technologies to Achieve Business Agility areas of improvement. Benchmarking is used to YDOLGDWHWKHSRWHQWLDOEHQH¿WDQGJDLQLQSHUIRU- mance measures from implementing e-business applications. Process Analysis The purpose of process analysis (also called design and requirements) is to use modeling (process PDSSLQJ PHWKRGV WR DQDO\]H ³DVLV´ EXVLQHVV processes, capture the existing challenges and pain points in the current process and the sup- ply chain, design and validate the to-be process improvements against best-practice benchmarks, determine the extent of process and technology changes possible in the currently existing systems, and identify the additional software (application) capabilities that are required to support the to-be process that cannot be supported by the existing systems. This requirements list will be the base for selecting the new software. Select the Right E-Business Software As a best practice, organizations need to identify the best-of-breed solution that is most suitable for the required functionality for their business, taking into consideration software-technology maturity and sustainability. Supporting leading industry standards for e-business technology like Java, XML, Linux, and Web services is crucial during the selection process. Cost and %HQH¿W$QDO\VLV &RVWDQGEHQH¿WDQDO\VLVLVWKHSURFHVVWKDWGH- WHUPLQHVWKHSRWHQWLDOEHQH¿WVIURPLPSOHPHQW- ing the combination of the best-practice process and the new application or software. It addresses questions like the following. What is the potential value of increasing the loyalty of our customers when new marketing-management software is implemented? What is the cost of implementing the new solution? Adopt a Value-Driven Implementa- tion Methodology Adopting a value-driven approach to conduct the e-business transformation programs like Six Sigma is very critical. An effective transforma- tion program typically takes 2 to 5 years, with several intermediate checkpoints (go-lives) to achieve the value needed to pay for the rest of the program. Performance-Management System A performance-management system consists RI WZR SKDVHV 7KH ¿UVW SKDVH LV WR HVWDEOLVK a consistent metrics-tracking and -publishing SURFHVVDQGWKLVSKDVHVKRXOG¿QLVKEHIRUHWKH implementation of the transformation program. The second phase is to continue measuring the EHQH¿WVDQG52,ZKLFKVKRXOGVWDUWGXULQJDQG after the implementation. Since the performance-management system depends mainly on monitoring the metrics (KPIs), LWLVFULWLFDOWRVSHQGHQRXJKWLPHRQGH¿QLQJWKHVH metrics. The performance-management system should manage and coordinate the development of these metrics. Melnyk, Stewart, and Swink (2004) mentioned that metrics provide the following three basic functions. • Control: Metrics enable managers to evaluate and control the performance of the resources. • Communication: Metrics communicate performance to internal and external stake- holders. • Improvement: Metrics identify gaps (be- tween actual performance and expectation) that ideally point the way for intervention and improvement. Sabri and Rehman (2004) provided guidelines for identifying and maintaining metrics based on best practice, recommended to capture all opera- 697 Best Practice in Leveraging E-Business Technologies to Achieve Business Agility tional metrics because improvement in one area could be at the expense of another, and suggested WRVXPPDUL]HEHQH¿WVLQVL[NH\DUHDVUHYHQXH increase, cost reduction, process lead-time re- GXFWLRQDVVHWUHGXFWLRQFXVWRPHUEHQH¿WVDQG VXSSOLHUEHQH¿WV Change Management Effective change management for e-business transformation programs should consider gaining and keeping executive sponsorship. Without executives’ buy-in and support, a transforma- tion program would be much closer to failure than success. It should also involve all SC part- ners in developing the new to-be process, and VKRXOGHVWDEOLVKDEHQH¿WVKDULQJDQGLQFHQWLYHV mechanism. Maintenance, Support, and Rollout Although companies acknowledge the importance of ongoing operational management and support, few of them think ahead of time and allocate the right resources for it. Once the e-business appli- FDWLRQOLQNVDUHLQSODFHFRPSDQLHV¿QGWKHP- selves with an urgent need to manage the ongoing maintenance and rollout. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance are necessary to ensure 100% uptime DQGFRPSOLDQFH7KHODFNRIDGH¿QHGDQGFOHDU plan for maintenance and rollout might impact the whole transformation program negatively. The ongoing maintenance and rollout process should include adding new SC organizations and removing existing ones as necessary. It includes training programs and process compliance by monitoring related metrics. It also includes the LGHQWL¿FDWLRQDQGGHVFULSWLRQRIDOOXVHUJURXSV and the process of adding new users, making changes to user authorization levels, maintaining SUR¿OHVDQGGHOHWLQJXVHUV)LQDOO\FRQWLQJHQF\ plans should be reviewed periodically to make sure its readiness. Contingency plans represent SUHGH¿QHGFRXUVHVRIDFWLRQVWREHIROORZHGLQ case of the occurrence of a drastic event like when the sources for inbound information go down. Case Study This case study is based on an article published in October 2004 by Reuben Slone in Harvard Business Review (HBR), which is about the sup- ply-chain turnaround by Whirlpool in the last 4 years. Whirlpool makes a diverse line of products like washers, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovens, with manufacturing facilities in 13 countries. This case study is a real-life example of a company that adopted many of the best- practice guidelines of implementing e-business applications that were highlighted previously in this section. Strategy Whirlpool needed a strategy that not only ad- dresses the current needs, but also anticipates the challenges of the future. Whirlpool wanted a strategy that can optimize supply-chain perfor- mance at minimum cost, and include new e-busi- ness technology, processes, roles, and talents to achieve competitive advantage. Its strategy was to IRFXVRQFXVWRPHUUHTXLUHPHQWV¿UVWDQGSURFHHG backward. Therefore, Whirlpool and Sears as a customer studied consumers’ desires with regard to appliance delivery. They found that consumers DUHDVNLQJIRUDFFXUDWHSURPLVHVDVD¿UVWUHTXLUH- PHQW³*LYHDGDWHKLWDGDWH´ Benchmarking and Process Analysis Whirlpool benchmarked its competitors and ob- tained cross-industry information and competitive intelligence from AMR, Gartner, and Forrester Research. Then it mapped out what is considered best-practice performance along 27 different SC-capability dimensions. This exercise helped identify areas of improvement. 698 Best Practice in Leveraging E-Business Technologies to Achieve Business Agility &RVWDQG%HQH¿W$QDO\VLV The program transformation team had to build a compelling business case to get the buy-in from upper management. They had to justify their pro- gram wholly on expense reductions and working capital improvements. Effective Transformation Plans Effective transformation plans include a value- driven implementation methodology (Six Sigma), performance-management system, change man- agement, and rollout plans. Whirlpool started with improving the S&OP process. Its current process was inadequate with Excel spreadsheet feeds. Now, Whirlpool is able to generate synchronized long and short plans WKDWFRQVLGHUPDUNHWLQJVDOHV¿QDQFHDQGPDQX- facturing constraints or requirements. Then, it launched a CPFR pilot to share forecasts using a Web-based application and to collaborate on the exceptions, which enabled it to cut forecast ac- curacy error in half within 30 days of launch. In January 2002, Whirlpool implemented a suite of software products from i2 to reduce inventories while sustaining high service level. By May 2002, a blind Internet survey showed Whirlpool to be ³PRVWLPSURYHG´³HDVLHVWWRGREXVLQHVVZLWK´ DQG³PRVWSURJUHVVLYH´LQWKHH\HVRIWKHLUWUDGH partners. It segmented its products and followed a different strategy for each product group. For high-volume SKU like dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines, it used the build-to-stock replenishment technique with its customers. For smallest volume SKUs, they followed the pull UHSOHQLVKPHQWWHFKQLTXHZLWKWKHPRUHÀH[LEOH build-to-order process. The inventory savings on the small-volume SKUs can balance out the costs of stocking up on the high-volume SKUs. Whirlpool also started to move away from having one service level across all products, recognizing that some products are more important or more SUR¿WDEOH WKDQ RWKHUV DQG VKRXOG KDYH KLJKHU service levels. Recently, there has been a focus on system- to-system transactions, in which the Whirlpool system talks directly to a customer’s system for purposes of transmitting purchase orders, exchanging sales data, and submitting invoices and payments. At the same time, customers can check availability and place orders via the In- ternet. Whirlpool is also looking to implement an event-management capability that provides DQRWL¿FDWLRQZKHQHYHUDQDFWLRQLQWKHSURFHVV has taken place. A couple things were absolutely critical to keep the transformation program schedule on track: a KLJKO\GLVFLSOLQHGWUDQVIRUPDWLRQSURJUDPRI¿FH and an effective management system. The key was to think big but focus relentlessly on near-term deadlines. Whirlpool organized the change effort into 30-day chunks, with three new capabilities or business releases rolling out monthly, some on the supply side and some on the demand side. The main job of the program transformation of- ¿FHZKLFKDGRSWHG6L[6LJPDPHWKRGRORJ \ZDV to ensure the completion of projects on time, on EXGJHWDQGRQEHQH¿W 7 K H W U D Q VIR U P D W L R Q S U R J U D P R I ¿ F H F R Q W U D F W H G Michigan State University and the American Pro- duction and Inventory Control Society to develop a competency model that can outline the skills and roles required in a top-tier organization. Whirlpool also expanded the compensation system to allow employees to be rewarded for increasing their expertise even if they are not being promoted into supervisory roles. It also put a huge emphasis on developing employees’ management skills and used a model developed by Project Management Institute (PMI) as a standard for evaluating and enhancing the organization’s project-management capabilities. Finally, it assembled a supply-chain advisory board to provide guidance and assess the transformation program results and direction. To summarize, Whirlpool followed the best practice in leveraging e-business technologies, 699 Best Practice in Leveraging E-Business Technologies to Achieve Business Agility and in return, it has much to show for its trans- formation efforts. Today, its product-availability service level is more than 95%. The inventory RI¿QLVKHGJRRGVKDVGURSSHGIURPWR days. In one year, it lowered its working capital by almost $100 million and supply-chain costs by $20 million with an ROI equal to 2. CONCLUSION E-business technologies present huge oppor tunities that are already being tapped by many companies and supply chains. Leveraging e-business tech- nologies effectively is key to gaining competi- tive advantage, streamlining processes, slashing waste, and eventually achieving business agility, ZKLFKLVVLJQL¿FDQWO\QHHGHGLQWKHQHZDJHRI globalization and intensive competition. More companies will start to realize that gain- ing competitive advantage is no longer feasible only by managing their own organizations. They need to get involved in the management of all upstream organizations that are responsible for the supply, as well as the downstream network that is responsible for delivery and the after-sales market. The challenge for companies for the rest of this decade is synchronization across supply-chain processes, from product design and procurement to marketing and customer-service management, in order to be more responsive to customer needs. The new trend of mergers and acquisitions will continue to rise, and big companies that are buy- ing out smaller ones will grow even bigger in the complexity of their supply chains. This will increase the need for e-business technologies to streamline the process of collaboration between the different entities. Therefore, in the next few years, we will see the explosion of e-business-applications use as FRPSDQLHV XWLOL]H HEXVLQHVV WR UHGH¿QH VXS- ply-chain processes that span across suppliers DQGFXVWRPHUVZKLFKZLOOUHVXOWLQDVLJQL¿FDQW LPSURYHPHQWLQHI¿FLHQF\DQGZLOOKHOSFRPSDQLHV achieve competitive advantage. Companies that do not come on board will realize that they are losing ground and customers soon. The widespread use of e-business will lead to new options for improving business-to-business and business-to-consumer collaborations like multitier collaborations and root-cause analysis for exceptions in the supply-chain performance. In addition, it will open new ways of integration between supply-chain partners like system-to- system integration using Web services (e.g., LQWHJUDWLQJRQH¿UP¶VLQYHQWRU\FRQWUROV\VWHP and another’s logistics-scheduling environment), the use of wireless devices, and the tight integra- tion of the Web site with the back-end systems of supply-chain partners. Eventually, e-business technologies will replace electronic data inter- FKDQJHWKHEHQH¿WVRIZKLFKQHYHUPDWHULDOL]HG for midsized companies because of its high cost. We also expect SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to realize the importance of e-business and to follow one of the following arrangements in adopting e-business technologies depending on the business requirements and cost factors. • Microsoft arrangement: Easy to implement due to wide familiarity with the product and its selling process through partners, cheap license, cheap maintenance, and tight inte- gration with other Microsoft products like Excel • Public Web-enabled arrangement: Pre- built solution by a Web-enabled applications SURYLGHUDWD¿[HGPRQWKO\FRVWQRQHHG for software to be present on the company’s internal network, no maintenance fees, and lower risk due to almost zero-down invest- ment Intelligent performance-management systems that can capture negative performance trends and select the correct resolutions are expected to come into widespread use in the next few years. 700 Best Practice in Leveraging E-Business Technologies to Achieve Business Agility To summarize, we will witness, for the rest of this decade, what is called a tightly integrated environment in which supply-chain interactions involve tightly integrated databases and applica- WLRQVSURFHVVHVDUHVLJQL¿FDQWO\UHGHVLJQHGDQG streamlined to eliminate redundancies and non- value activities. REFERENCES Anderson, D. M. (2003). Build-to-order & mass customization. Cambria, CA: CIM Press. Ballou, R. H. (2004). Business logistics/supply chain management (5 th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Bowman, R. J. (2002). TaylorMade drives sup- SO\FKDLQ HI¿FLHQF\ ZLWK KRXU FOXE Sup- plyChainBrain.com. Retrieved December 10, 2004, from http://www.supplychainbrain.com/ archives/10.02.TaylorMade.htm?adcode=5 Curran, T. A., & Ladd, A. (2000). SAP R3 busi- ness blueprint: Understanding enterprise supply chain management (2 nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Devaraj, S., & Kohli, R. (2002). The IT payoff: Measuring the business value of information technology investment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. +DQG¿HOG5%1LFKROV(5Supply chain redesign: Transforming supply chains into integrated value systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Harmon, P. (2003). Business process chain: A manager’s guide to improving, redesigning, and automating processes. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. Lee, H., & Whang, S. (2001). E-business and supply chain integration. Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum, 1-20. Melnyk , S. A., Stewart, D. M., & Swink, M. (2004). Metrics and performance measurement in operations management: Dealing with the metrics maze. Journal of Operations Manage- ment, 22, 209-217. Rigby, D., Reichheld, F., & Schefter, P. (2002). Avoid the four perils of CRM. Harvard Business Review, 1-9. Sabri, E. (2005). Value chain management to achieve competitive advantage in retail industry. Paper presented at the Middle East Retail Confer- ence, United Arab Emirates. Sabri, E., & Beamon, B. (2000). A multi-objective approach to simultaneous strategic and operational planning in supply chain design. OMEGA: The International Journal of Management Science, 28(5), 581-598. Sabri, E., & Rehman, A. (2004). ROI model for procurement order management process. Paper presented at the Lean Management Solutions Conference, Los Angeles. Slone, R. E. (2004). Leading supply chain turn- around. Harvard Business Review, 1-9. Valencia, J. S., & Sabri, E. H. (2005). E-business technologies impact on supply chain. Paper pre- sented at the 16 th Annual Conference of POMS, Chicago. This work was previously published in Enterprise Service Computing: From Concept to Deployment, edited by R. Qiu, pp. 356-287, copyright 2007 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global). 701 Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 3.2 Technological Challenges in E-Collaboration and E-Business Fang Zhao RMIT University, Australia INTRODUCTION E-collaboration takes advantage of the current Internet-driven business environment, which integrates the most advanced electronic tech- nologies and the knowledge-based economy. Companies engaging in e-collaboration must participate in external business relationships by using computer interactions (Damanpour, 2001). Implementing e-collaboration strategy can require many sophisticated technologies and systems such as EDI, XML, eCRM. E-collaboration is thus confronted with the great challenge of re- HQJLQHHULQJ,7VWUDWHJLHVDQGUHVRXUFHV³1HDUO\ 80% of organizations that have rushed to establish Web sites for online retailing have failed to invest in the purchasing and distribution systems that make delivery of their products possible” (Neef, 2001, p.3). System failure has a profound effect on e-collaboration and e-business, both in the short and long-term. The tremendous complexity of information technologies has become a huge hurdle to companies embracing them, affect- ing their entire management strategy, process, structure, and most importantly, business bottom line results. The main technological issues to be considered are associated with IT infrastructure, and managers’ and operatives’ knowledge and skills in e-collaboration and e-partnership. The following constitutes some of the key technologi- cal issues facing e-collaboration. • Process and system alignment and integra - tion • Interoperability of systems • Accessibility, security and compatibility of interorganizational information systems 7UDI¿FLQFROODERUDWLYHHFRPPHUFHDFWLYL - ties • Sustained IT support and resources • Transferring and sharing information and data • Building and sustaining an effective virtual network structure amongst e-partners • Quality and effectiveness of networking and communications (Zhao, 2004) 702 Technological Challenges in E-Collaboration and E-Business collaboration enables the reduction of inventory costs and enhancement of customer service level across the supply chain (Lee & Whang, 2002). New product development is also facilitated by e-collaboration between business partners in which collaborative product development such as product rollover (the transition from one version of a product to its successor) is completed with HI¿FLHQF\DQGVSHHGSRZHUHGE\:HEWHFKQROR- gies. Some of the popular e-collaboration methods include virtual workrooms, online visualization of demand forecast, online monitoring of capac- ity utilization, virtual development platforms and online visualization of business processes (Kersten et al., 2004). In terms of the e-supply chain collaboration, VLPSOL¿HGDQGVWDQGDUGL]HGVROXWLRQVEDVHGRQ common technology architecture must be instigat- ed, which may include trading partner processes, multiple levels of connectivity amongst trading partners, internal infrastructure, and system reengineering to ensure e-supply chain interoper- ability (that is, the ability to be fully compatible and capable of being integrated with each other in e-business), and e-application architecture (Ross, 2003). Given the fact that many companies now operate in more than one electronic supply chain, multiple IT integration becomes paramount to their business operations. Interoperability can be achieved through process standardization and information standards (e.g., EDI and RosettaNet Standards). Studies show that the achievement of PXOWLSOH,7LQWHJUDWLRQEULQJVVLJQL¿FDQWEHQH¿WV to the companies that implement it (Davis & Spek- man, 2004). A study of implementation of e-SCM solutions shows that often the implementation is ³IUDXJKWZLWKGLI¿FXOWLHVSRWHQWLDOO\HQRUPRXV H[SHQVHVDQGVLJQL¿FDQWWUDXPDWRHYHQWKHEHVW of organizations” (Ross, 2003, p.325). There are also issues relating to levels of implementation. As companies vary considerably in terms of the nature of their business, capacities, resources, size, developmental stage, culture, competency of leadership, and so forth, the strategy for e-col- This article focuses on the most important techno- logical challenges and issues facing e-collabora- tion and e-business in the areas of information ÀRZ SURFXUHPHQW ORJLVWLFV HQJLQHHULQJ DQG manufacturing, marketing, customer services, DQGKXPDQUHVRXUFHV,WGHDOVVSHFL¿FDOO\ZLWKWKH process and system alignment and integration as well as the issues of interoperability which have become of primary concerns in the practices of e-collaboration BACKGROUND Generally speaking, e-collaboration refers to the use of the Internet and/or Internet-based tools among business partners beyond market trans- actions. The term is often used in the context of supply chain, in particular, in supplier-buyer UHODWLRQVKLSV(FROODERUDWLRQLVLGHQWL¿HGDVRQH of the new areas of optimizing the relationship between supplier and OEM via the Internet. It is an Internet-supported, enterprise-spanning cooperation which is viewed as crucial during the development and construction process (the so called e-engineering process) (Kersten, Schroe- der, & Schulte-Bisping, 2004). E-collaboration aims to facilitate coordination of various supply chain activities and decision-making processes. It often involves sharing of information and knowledge on which joint supply chain decisions can be made. Information that needs to be shared amongst supply chain partners often include sales data, inventory status, production schedule, promotion plans, demand forecasts, shipment schedule, and new product introduction plans. In addition to information sharing, e-collaboration provides opportunities for collaborative planning and new product development. By resorting to e-collaboration and Web technologies, supply chain partners can exchange product forecasts and replenishment plans and then develop new plans that meet market demand in a timely and effective way. Studies show that this kind of e- 703 Technological Challenges in E-Collaboration and E-Business laboration infrastructure should be realistic and feasible, and in line with the company’s actual need and capacity to embrace e-business. Incre- mental rather than radical changes are encouraged to implement limited, tactical Web technologies that will enhance existing processes for e-col- laboration. INTEROPERABILITY: ISSUES AND OPTIONS Interoperability problems are one of the key issues that are paramount to competitiveness and success of corporations in e-collaboration. Interoperabil- ity must be viewed as a core business process in managing interorganizational e-collaborations. Unfortunately, the costs of interoperability problems are often underestimated or generally neglected by management. Empirical studies show that interoperability problems can be very costly LQWHUPVRI¿QDQFLDODQGWLPHUHVRXUFHVDQGFDQ impact adversely corporate productivity and cause enormous frustration among e-partners. Some large companies have endeavored to alleviate the negative impact of interoperability problems by LPSOHPHQWLQJVLJQL¿FDQWSURFHGXUHVWRROVDQG infrastructure. However, they are not always suc- cessful in resolving the issues (Interoperability best practices, 2004). According to a research presented by David Prawel (2003), president of LongView Advisors Inc. Colorado, at the Time Compression Technologies 2003 Conference, many companies still spend a huge amount of engineering resource on performing the manual tasks associated with sending and receiving data, FRQ¿UPLQJUHFHLSWWUDFNLQJFRQWUDFWLQIRUPDWLRQ and so forth due to a lack of underlying infrastruc- ture support. Lack of management involvement and assigning responsibility for interoperability WRDVSHFL¿FPDQDJHURUWHDPDOVRFRQWULEXWHWR the failure in resolving interoperability problems. Prawel made some key recommendations that may help companies with interoperability problems to improve their interoperability. Interoperability training and consulting, management support, a corporate approach to addressing interoperability issues, developing service relationships with ser- vice providers, and investment in infrastructure such as good translation and infrastructure tools are among the key recommendations. The collaborative technology infrastructure capacities required may vary in different supply chains and e-business contexts, along with the role and size of each e-partner. The following presents fundamental and broad strategies for establishing and maintaining an effective e-infrastructure for e-collaboration in the supply chain. • Establishing simple and low-cost connectiv - LW\WRHQVXUHWKDWVPDOOHU¿UPVDUHDEOHWR access, and participate fully in, a collabora- tive infrastructure without having to make a major investment. For example, organi- zations should have access to networked SCM applications which are browser-based through broadband Internet connections or virtual private networks. • Establishing and implementing a common data model for data storage across the sup- ply chain, which would be a simpler, faster, DQGIDUPRUHHI¿FLHQWWKDQLQWHJUDWLQJDOO the various data models. • Developing high-level self-service technolo - gies that enable supply chain members to not only track orders and obtain logistics and billing information, but also automatically FRQ¿JXUH SURGXFWV PDNH SD\PHQWV DQG resolve disputes. • Developing business intelligence technolo - JLHVWRDQDO\]HWKHRQJRLQJÀRZRILQIRU- mation drawn from the entire supply chain, which helps companies make improvements in internal operations and collaborative capabilities on an ongoing process. In fact, applying business intelligence into e-busi- . e-collaboration and Web technologies, supply chain partners can exchange product forecasts and replenishment plans and then develop new plans that meet market demand in a timely and effective. span across suppliers and partners, the need for e-business strategy and continuous upper manage- ment support, the lack of comprehensive metrics and continuous monitoring, and the inability to. challenges and pain points in the current process and the sup- ply chain, design and validate the to-be process improvements against best-practice benchmarks, determine the extent of process and