The ability to serve new markets

The ability to gain and service new customers

The ability to provide existing customers with innovative new products

The ability to offer a higher service level.

Improved business intelligence

Many Supply Chain solutions tend to focus on the back-end, with functional modules such as Advanced Planning and Scheduling, and MRP. What's required is more, and better, ways to interact with customers, and to deliver value. Price is no longer the foremost decision factor in Procurement. On-time performance, and responsive customer service, has become the new paradigm.

What a supplier should strive for:

Customization of products, and packaging options

On-time and rapid delivery, based on Customer Promised Date

Customized logistics and transportation choices

Concurrent design (supplier-customer)

Supply-chain optimization - visibility of order status, scheduled delivery times, and shipping information, and rapid and reactive change capability.

With transactions over the Internet gaining greater acceptance, B2B e-commerce is increasing at a rapid rate. Unfortunately, many companies who could add value, with minimal interruption to existing business processes, are not aware of the benefits, or reluctant to make an investment in a technology which appears not yet to be "stabilized". In effect, B2B consists of a variety of methodologies, some of which may benefit a particular customer more than another. The solution entails an overview of what’s available, and why a particular technology may prove useful to the individual company.

Some ideas:

On-line product catalog, for direct ordering.

Ability to e-mail a .gif image of a product to the customer, while taking an order.

Customer unattended on-line visibility of Open A/R, Open Sales Orders, Sales History, and Inventory Availability.

Supplier unattended on-line visibility of Open A/P, Open Purchase Orders, Purchasing History, and product information such as days on hand, and lead-time.

A rules-based configurator that can be integrated with Web sites, and legacy databases, such as CRM and ERP systems, connected to a what-if capability as to availability of subassemblies.

The benefits:

Shorter lead times

Lower inventories – increased turns

Reduced WIP

More accurate forecasting, via a higher level of customer input

More efficient production scheduling

Better customer service levels – stocking the fastest-moving goods

Higher productivity – reduced operating costs

Increased market share

Higher return on assets

A detailed requirements analysis should be performed, as complex B2B e-business initiatives can be expensive, and take longer than expected to bring on line. I recommend involvement of key Customers and Suppliers, in the design phase, to insure that their needs are met, and that they have the means to obtain the information that they need, with minimal continued support. Benchmark successful sites as to ease of navigation, content, search capability, and interactivity.

Determine realistically whether or not the initiative will provide value, and will meet the strategic objectives of the business plan. The business plan must be realistic, as to what can be achieved, but written with an open viewpoint as to what can be gained from well-thought-out B2B initiatives. The business plan cannot become a limitation, in terms of planning and budgeting. In order to realize this, without conflict, any goals to be met utilizing B2B initiatives should be considered as a part of the overall business plan, rather than a later add-on.

The basic decision steps include:

Identify the constraints, and set goals accordingly.

Rethink your business processes, including inventory management, supply chain, logistics, procurement, forecasting, data acquisition and entry.

Determine specific constraints, where removal would create a defined value:

Excessive inventory or work-in-process?

Material or Work Center production bottlenecks?

Inefficient scheduling?

Poor resource utilization?

Logistics issues delaying on-time delivery?

Inaccurate database?

Inadequate reporting capability for real-time valuations?

Ability to measure gains?