Business-to-Business E-Commerce for Collaborative Supply Chain Design and Development

SMEs form a virtual enterprise—a short-term loose integration, to meet business opportunities; managers of SMEs are looking for a tool that could help them design the strategic model of the supply chain in which they are collaboratively involved. Though the use of e-commerce tools has a lot of potential to improve an enterprise’s collaboration efforts with other enterprises, realizing an e-commerce tool that enables collaborative supply chain design and development is not easy, as collaborating enterprises may each use a different flavor of XML, multiple technology solutions, and have different business rules. This chapter presents a methodology for developing a new e-commerce tool to assist collaborative supply chain management. By this methodology, a new tool that is affordable by the SMEs and offers improved pipeline visibility could be easily implemented.

E-Transformation of Austrain SMEs

This chapter highlights the differences that exist between the e-commerce (EC) perspective of SMEs and the EC perspective from the researchers’ point of view. First the main aspects of SME EC found in a literature review are pointed out and then the results of a SME survey are presented. The findings of this survey, conducted with Austrian SMEs in the automotive industry sector, show for example that EC adoption is slower than expected. Consequently, we introduce a concept that was developed to minimize the identified gap between the two EC perspectives, by connecting university research and regional SME networks more efficiently. This action research-based approach enables SMEs to evaluate the impact of EC on their business model.

Mass Customization and Product Models

When dealing with complex product models, efficient knowledge distribution is essential to obtain success. This chapter describes how product models can be applied to support the knowledge distribution. The change toward individualization will radically affect the knowledge application in relation to the product. Through the application of a mass customization strategy, companies have a unique opportunity to create increased customer satisfaction. In a customized production, knowledge and information have to be easily accessible since every product is a unique combination of information. If the dream of a customized alternative instead of a uniform mass-produced product shall become a reality, then the cross-organizational efficiency must be kept at a competitive level. This is the real challenge for mass customization. A radical restructuring of both the internal and the external knowledge management systems is needed. Management of variety and closer integration with suppliers is necessary when the companies are working in a network.

Assessing the Impact of E-Commerce on SMEs in Value Chains

This chapter is intended as a contribution to the establishment of a theoretical foundation for the e-commerce field. Our specific contribution to methodology is through the description of a qualitative approach based on multiple case studies across industry and country boundaries. This has enabled us to propose an analytical framework that will identify the triggers for value chain transformation that will encourage SMEs to adopt e-commerce. The chapter describes seven elements that make up this framework, including the automation of value activity interactions between partners in the value chain. These elements form the basis for a discussion of future trends.

SMEs and the Internet

This chapter provides in-depth profiles of two representative small firms and one medium-sized firm from a variety of industry sectors in order to delineate the workflow processes, cost structures, and other aspects about these companies that affect their e-commerce potential. We seek to identify specifically how SMEs can feasibly re-engineer and engage in e-commerce. We consider re-engineering internal business processes as a prerequisite for firms trying to move to e-commerce on the Internet. However, even after re-engineering has occurred, our primary data gathered from key cases—Schober’s Machine and Engineering, a small business that designs and builds custom-engineered machines; Castle Press, a small firm specializing in high-quality printing; and Dilbeck Realtors, a medium-sized real estate brokerage—all show that the value proposition for e-commerce still has yet to be realized.

The Role of Application Service Providers in the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

This chapter explores the role of application service providers (ASPs) in the development of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in e-commerce era and guides clients to successfully collaborate with ASPs for competitive advantages. It extensively discusses the advantages and risks SMEs will take when renting applications from ASPs. Furthermore, a five-stage model is presented to investigate the process by which SMEs can establish cooperation with ASPs. At each stage, the factors SMEs need to account for when choosing ASPs, as well as management strategies during relationship building, are examined in detail. Practical recommendations are provided for SMEs to follow in order to set up a successful relationship with ASPs. By understanding this relationship establishment process through the stage model, practitioners facing the real challenge may learn a well-grounded methodology for ASP selection based on particular characteristics of their organizations.

Mapping the Diffusion of the Internet Technology Cluster

This chapter adopts a ‘technology cluster’ perspective in examining Internet usage within SMEs, analyzing Internet usage in terms of three distinct Internet technology groupings. Specific attention is paid to identifying and categorizing the diffusion pattern of website development among the SME sector on the basis of the theory of mimetic IT adoption patterns. Two potential hybrid diffusion patterns are identified, and their implications for policy makers and development agencies in the SME sector are discussed.

Factors Influencing E-Commerce Adoption in Small to Medium Businesses

This study examines the factors influencing the variations of e-commerce adoption decisions in small and medium businesses in Thailand. Based on the literature review, three groups of factors are identified, including organizational, technology, and environmental factors. Firms are classified into three main groups based on the extent to which an organization is relatively earlier to adopt e-commerce than others, namely adopters, prospectors, and laggards. Data was collected through a national survey in several provinces in Thailand. The statistical analysis results strongly support the hypotheses. The results are interpreted and the implications of this study are subsequently discussed.

Perceived Barriers and Risks of E-Commerce Supply Chain Management Network Among SMEs in Australia and New Zealand

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have limited power in the Supply Chain Management Network (SCMN), as they come with limited resources to invest in advanced planning systems. This makes it difficult for them to cope with the latest challenges such as mass customization, which places higher demands on the company’s ability to attune its production planning to customers’ wishes and their suppliers in supply chain management. This chapter discusses the challenges (barriers and risks) that SMEs face today based on the findings of a survey that examined the extent of e-commerce adoption in Australia and New Zealand. The findings revealed how technical issues impact two groups of adopters, namely leaders and followers. Leaders refer to businesses that are willing to take risks and invest in IT, whereas followers refer to businesses that were more conscious of their IT investments. We conclude the chapter with key findings and implications to practice.

Analyzing the Risk Factors of Moving to a Remote Application Outsourcing Model

In the last few years there has been much interest in the delivery of software-as-a-service. The concept of remote application outsourcing, or application service provision (ASP), has emerged as a solution aiming to offer organizations, mainly small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), access to key applications that were previously unaffordable. This chapter examines this model of software delivery, focusing on the potential risks that could be associated with it. The authors identify shared risks with traditional IS/IT outsourcing and proprietary risks of this model. The chapter concludes by giving a classification of these risks.