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The key factor in selecting EDI software is flexibility. Companies need this flexibility to adapt to the rapidly changing user requirements. This article reviews the essential elements of EDI software and discusses software selection and implementation strategies.

Telecommunications addresses the tyranny of distance for international and domestic trade communities by providing information linkages both internally and externally to an organization. These global networks give firms the opportunity to gain strategic advantages such as the strengthening of trading partner relationships and the redesigning of internal procedures to improve overall efficiency and cost effectiveness. The business community, however, has been slow to adopt telecommunications and its enabled technologies – electronic data interchange (EDI) in particular – owing to a general lack of understanding of the benefits available from their effective utilization. Describes an education‐oriented approach designed to encourage greater acceptance of telecommunications and EDI by educating university students – the managers of the future – about applied telecommunications in an international environment. Discusses also the cultural and cross‐cultural experiences of the students who participated in this pilot project. The results indicate that there is evidence to support the hypothesis that EDI is an appropriate exemplar technology for teaching applied telecommunications in an international environment; and that a laboratory‐based strategy is an effective way of using EDI to achieve this objective and providing students with experience of the cultural and cross‐cultural factors involved in international commerce.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the approach required to conduct an efficient and effective audit of EDI systems. An audit approach proposed by Wu and Hahn (1989) is employed to examine, at a conceptual level, IS managers’ and CIS auditors’ perceptions of the audit approach necessary to evaluate internal controls in EDI systems. Wu and Hahn’s approach is based on a broader control concept and uses a control‐complexity/control‐point orientation to evaluate organisations’ internal control systems in dynamic computerised environments. Findings based on data from a sample of IS managers and CIS auditors showed general agreement with the audit approach proposed by Wu and Hahn and moderate consensus between the IS managers and CIS auditors regarding this approach.

Away from central public authorities, regional (also called rural) enterprises do not have direct, physical access to all the services that governmental or public agencies offer. Very often, these services are essential for enterprises, mostly small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), in such areas, in order to perform their business operations. This paper aims to present an example of how such types of information management and use took place in the case of familiarizing rural SMEs with the use of e‐government.

This paper is a case study of how a practical application is designed and developed for the blended training of rural SMEs. First of all, an identification of the main information resources that will be stored, annotated, shared and accessed through the system took place. Then, an outline of the general architecture and user roles involved was developed. System analysis and specification using Unified Modeling Language (UML) then took place. This was accompanied by design and specification of the database, based on appropriate metadata schemas for describing the information resources. The whole process was completed by the design and prototype development of the interface, which was put into public operation and testing with a sample set of real users.

Although there are several information management systems focusing on the education and training of rural stakeholders, their learning resources are not directly relevant to SMEs' needs. The main finding of this paper is that it shows a complete case study of designing, developing and evaluating an information technology application for rural businesses.

The value of the approach presented here is the combination of training resources in an information system with a blended training approach, so that it better matches the learning needs of SMEs. Through this web‐based environment, rural SMEs are able to find information on the e‐government services offered in their region, as well as gaining access to e‐learning content on how they can use such services.

This paper aims to provide a review of information and communication technology (ICT) models and frameworks in the implementation of one communication technique namely electronic data interchange (EDI). The main body of this paper describes and explains the usage of these tools and any specific industries in which they are applied. The tools are then individually analysed and then compared for similarities, dissimilarities, and their associated attributes. The methodology used divides the models into two categories, electronic data interchange specific and more generic. A set of integrated questions based on conceptual, research, and practical issues are then applied. These answers are rated, using a Likert type scale system, and then compared. This analysis informs the construction of a generic model for inter‐organisational analysis, and conclusions concerning approaches are discussed. The analysis also forms the basis for the model selection process in specific scenarios.

Explores the need for a business process re‐engineering methodology and presents a critique of the existing methodologies. The identified weaknesses served as a basis for the development of a new eight‐stage BPR methodology which was implemented and evaluated within three European construction companies. Summarises these stages, highlighting the need for a more integrated approach to organisational change where the human and organisational issues are incorporated in the implementation of the BPR initiative.

Defines the rationale for developing a model of EDl risks and associated controls. Highlights how and which EDI controls will alleviate and/or eliminate the specified EDI risks. The findings of the seven case studies identified additional EDI risks and controls, which paved the way for a new mapping of relationships between risks and controls. Offers a further insight into the perceptions of and responses to security threats faced by organizations in adopting EDI.

Many studies have been carried out on how Information Technology (IT) has transformed ways of doing business, but little is known about IT in the retail food industry in Saudi Arabia. The study reported here is the first to shed light on the usage of IT in the Saudi supermarket industry and to report outcomes which will set the scene for further investigation. This study was conducted to investigate the use of IT in Saudi supermarkets, the barriers to usage and the benefits gained in their business. The methods selected for this study were personal interviews and questionnaires with the MIS managers of the 21 supermarkets listed in the 1995‐1996 Saudi Business trade directory published by Kompass.

The new management concept of flexible business process reengineering (FBPR) may be defined as a methodology that combines the best of three management tools – positioning, continuous improvement and business process reengineering (PIR). Employing all three management tools to a sufficient degree could enhance the effectiveness of an improvement project compared to the conventional BPR methodology. The changes could be slightly less “radical” than conventional BPR, but in exchange, it is a relatively less risky strategy and can facilitate continuous learning and improvement. To maximize the organization's competitiveness through the application of FBPR, it is important to establish a value delivery system (VDS) to increase the project's effectiveness and to employ performance benchmarking to determine the performance gap. Using a case study, this paper illustrates the essentiality and the application of VDS and performance benchmarking during the implementation of FBPR.

Information technology and its wide range of applications have begun to make their presence in a new generation of logistic and distribution service industry. A more flexible breed of application packages is emerging by the application of fourth generation language (4GL) technologies, which are able to provide foundations for true enterprise resource planning (ERP). There are many good reasons for adopting enterprise‐wide resource planning systems. This research, however, focuses on the development of a human resource assignment module (HR module), usually considered as an essential part of an ERP system. This module provides crucial human resource data and supports decisions in human resource utilization in distribution center operations. We detail the crucial algorithm for the HR module, which provides efficient and effective manpower management for key logistic/distribution center operations.