Implementation and use of B2B‐enabling technologies: five manufacturing cases

Abstract

Purpose

To determine the extent to which long‐established technologies (such as barcoding and electronic data interchange (EDI)) have been applied across their supply chains, identify factors influencing implementation, discuss future trends for new technologies, and document the business benefits accrued.

Design/methodology/approach

Five case studies were conducted in manufacturing companies who are members of EAN Australia. As members of EAN Australia, the case study companies were using (to some extent at least) some aspects of the EAN system, and thus involved in using e‐commerce‐enabling technologies.

Findings

Indicates that the use of technology is largely restricted to the demand (in this study retail trading partners) side of the supply chain, despite a general understanding of the potential benefits of implementation backward through the supply side. There is general agreement that emerging technologies (such as the internet) will provide further opportunities, and at the same time increase pressure for extended use.

Research limitations/implications

Being limited to organizations operating in the Australian fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, the results therefore need to be read in this context. It would be useful if these findings could be compared with those from other countries and different industry sectors.

Practical implications

It is apparent that for manufacturers a critical loop is often not closed due to the limited availability of point of sale (POS) data from major trading partners, and that this has served to limit value capture (by the manufacturers) through extended application.

Originality/value

Highlights both the potential for business‐to‐business (B2B)‐enabling technologies to facilitate improvements in manufacturing operations, and the reality of their current limitations. An important emergent theme was that business benefits could be as much attributed to complementary methodologies (cooperative arrangements, cross‐functional involvement, etc.), as to the use of the technologies themselves. As such, the cases point to the critical nature of information in this area, and to the need for appropriate relationships between trading partners to underpin and enable data flows between trading partners.

Citation

Power, D. (2005), "Implementation and use of B2B‐enabling technologies: five manufacturing cases", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 16 No. 5, pp. 554-572. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410380510600527