The aim of this article is to show how electronic commerce can fundamentally change the inter-organisational processes at the interface between the buyer and supplier. The paper will indicate how electronic commerce is not only enabling the redesign of internal organisational processes but is also extended into both the buyer and supplier organisations. Two manufacturing case studies are presented outlining how various electronic commerce technologies have been implemented in a number of buyer-supplier environments. These case studies illustrate the benefits that organisations can achieve through the effective implementation of electronic commerce technologies such as electronic data interchange (EDI) and the Internet. The case studies will present electronic commerce technologies associated with MRPII and the product development process. It will be shown how electronic commerce is radically changing the way in which organisations have traditionally traded by: reshaping buyer-supplier relationships; improving core business processes; providing electronic inter-mediation; reaching new segments and markets; changing job roles and responsibilities.
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