For many years, manufacturers dominated the grocery supply chain. In the early post war years, demand was greater than supply and manufacturers produced the goods so they were the key players. Since the end of the second world war, this has changed. The mismatch between supply and demand has evened out. But this is about to change further-fundamentally and with major ramifications for all participants in the grocery supply chain. This is due to electronic commerce which will give customers the opportunity to browse or to buy from a virtually unlimited array of goods and to do this entirely over the Internet. However, for electronic commerce to become a viable alternative to today's retailing channels, four conditions must be met: broad based Internet access must be widely available to customers; the channel must be efficient and responsive; financial transactions, over the Net, must be completely secure; and a wide range of products must be available via this medium. The author briefly addresses these points. The implications of electronic commerce for retailers and manufacturers are also discussed.
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