Internet business solutions

The features from the previous chapter s models, when considered with other factors like customer demand-driven needs, wants, desires, and price point supply side service feeds the effect of the Internet, business strategic solutions and technology options, along with their interrelated and interconnected links, can be drawn into a new topology model termed the Service Value Network Framework Model. 

Conclude with a solution to the problem you ve discussed, or a recommendation for future action. This strategy will serve you well later, when you re asked to write business memos or reports. Here is a conclusion from an essay that examines misinformation on the Internet ... 

A quick search of the Internet will identify a number of EDMS solutions. Some may require a lot of customization to produce a package that will suit the requirements of your business. Others are particularly geared toward the pharmaceutical industry and have built in much more of the functionality required to meet GxP regulations. It is stiU almost certain that some customizations wiU be required, but as EDMS providers continue to improve their understanding of regulatory expectations (in particular, 21 CFR Part ID) and provide appropriate solutions, the lit with industry requirements will continue to improve. 

Some pharmaceutical mamrfacturers are implementing extranet web-enabled applications established with suppliers and business partners. Extranet includes Virtual Private Networking (VPN) and offer cheaper Web solutions. Remote node access is achieved using a client with a browser connected to a corporate Web address or Universal Resource Locator (URL). The challenge is ensuring security across the Internet link. A secure session or tunnel is established between the VPN server and the end user workstation. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecommunications carriers are endeavoring to provide a managed extranet/VPN service to corporate subscribers. A major benefit of Web-enabled applications is the ability to recover from disaster scenarios. Business Continuity Plans can actively make use of such applications. 

Starbucks is an example of a solution that addresses many jobs, such as drink caffeinated beverages, carry on business conversations, surf the Internet, drink healthy alternative beverages, and read books in a relaxed environment. 

As an example, Fluor s Global Automation Team develops or customizes high-value, business-driven project automation solutions and, in doing so, creates value for clients. At Fluor, knowledge flows freely between employees located in more than 50 offices worldwide. The company s proprietary program, called Knowledge Online, is an Internet collaboration that allows members continuous access to Fluor experts located around the world and also to more than 22,000 knowledge objects. 

Each of these goals has merit and the resrrlts can provide large payback. The problem is that in far too many situations, the payoff does not come because of the sheer complexity of the solutions. Much of the implementation cost and business case payback for these endeavors deals with taking activities out of the process. With the advent of the Internet, completely new business models are being pursued for connecting products or services with customers. The sheer size and cost of these approaches require a focus on the formal systems. 

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While EDI was introdueed some time ago by large firms, its eost made it difficult for even medium-sized firms. Intemetteehnology, with its open system platform and lower cost, is proving to be of signifieant benefit for many SME SCM applications. Successful adoption and integration of basic e-commerce, with its extensive use of the Internet, can serve as a foundation to more sophisticated solutions, such as e-SCM. Some of the SME research has focused on the broader area of e-business, including SCM applications (butnot always explicitly stating so), while other research has focused specifically on SCM applications. 

The table has been constructed by first disaggregating the key business activities that the strategy function normally has to discharge within any company, as described in chapter 1, and then linking these seven business activities with the particular types of tools and techniques found to be in use. These key business activities were defined as market and environmental analysis, product and competence development, resource allocation, performance measurement, financial management, the make/buy decision and the use of IT and Internet solutions. 

These findings are reinforced when one considers in more detail the use of tools and techniques across the five broad business activities defined earlier in chapter 1. There it was argued that in the operations and production function the major business activities can be sub-divided into product and competence development planning, design and work organisation, process and systems improvement, performance measurement and, IT and Internet solutions. Clearly, there is necessarily some overlap between these activities, and this fact is captured in Table 7.3 where the tools and techniques found to be in use are listed by the relevant business activities. As is clear from this analysis some tools and techniques can be used in more than one business activity and, when this occurs, the tool or technique has been recorded under each relevant business activity. This also means that the figures do not sum to 100%. 

The conclusion must be, therefore, that operations and production as a function knows its place and what it should focus on. This view is reinforced when one considers that the fifth business activity - IT and Internet solutions - recorded a respectable 16.48% of total business activity usages. This is respectable because many of the tools and techniques in this activity set are relatively new (such as ERP systems and buyer and supplier side software applications). Given this it is clear that the impact of these types of applications can only be expected to increase in the future in this function of business (Cox, et ah, 2001). This is because operational improvement can only occur if companies can be moved from their current data rich... 

The same can be said for the procurement and supply function which places the greatest emphasis on those operational effectiveness business activities associated with performance management (28.75%), process enhancement (27.62), IT and Internet solutions (22.79%). The function also puts considerable effort into its key functional role and responsibility associated with supplier selection and negotiation (22.60%), supplier development (19.11%) and segmentation of spend (11.62%) activities. The function clearly understands that it must deliver external resources efficiently and effectively at the operational level. This is borne out by the fact that it devotes least effort to the more strategic make/buy (9.20%) business activities. 

Thus the idea of a web based solution was born Leave confidential data in-house, offer client-role-based access to the simulation by a comfortable web interface. It was in the late nineties when companies discovered the internet as a potential business area of the future e-solutions promised to be the key to future markets. An interface of Hybrex accessible over the internet could be a basis for e-business. 

EQOS is looking to build the Microsoft Commercial Internet Pipeline (CIP) technology into the solution. The CIP would enable a standard method of sharing any type of business critical data using the Internet, e-mail or third-party Virtual Added Networks (VANs). This solution would allow all 4000 of Sainsbury s suppliers to strive towards the ECR principles of integrated supply and demand. 

Internet technology has certainly enhanced the collaborative business culture by enabling on-fine transparent information and transactions. The companycentric enterprise application vendors (including SAP, Oracle, J D Edwards and PeopleSoft), are now building partnerships or alliances with supply chain vendors (e.g. Manugistics, i2) and looking to extend their customer relationship applications and e-commerce solutions out into the web. 

Fast-paced and substantial advances in computer and mobile communication technology over the past twenty years meant an equally impressive development of information systems. This is widely experienced through ubiquitous internet access. Already back in the nineties of the last century transport related businesses and institutes saw that potential and consequently spawned a wide range of ICT solutions supporting transport logistics processes as well traffic management. That last-mentioned area of technical solutions is commonly referred to as Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). 

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