Logistics in the Internet age: towards a holistic information and processes picture

TLDR

The Internet’s rapid growth has transformed how goods, services, and information are exchanged and accessed, raising visibility of processes and interaction capabilities. This short paper argues that the Internet fundamentally changes the nature of supply‑chain information within an organisation. Internet technologies enhance supply‑chain process visibility inside organisations. A horizontal, wide‑view perspective of all supply‑chain partners is essential to capture the commercial benefits of the Internet.

Abstract

It is unquestioned that the growth of the Internet is a significant phenomenon. Not only is there an exponential growth in the exchange of goods and services over the Internet, but the Internet has changed the way information can be accessed and used. This short paper posits that the Internet has made a fundamental change in the nature of the supply chain information within an organisation. It also describes how Internet technologies have changed the visibility of the processes in the organisation’s supply chain. Visibility concerns both information about processes and the capability for interacting with these processes. We conclude by asserting why a horizontal wide‐view picture of all partners in a supply chain has to be taken in order to reap the commercial advantages offered by the new technology.