Chapter 26: Efficient Data Management in E-Business Transactions

Nikos Karacapilidis, University of Patras

Greece

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This case reports on the implementation of an open information management system that integrated modern information technology approaches to address the needs of a Greek medium-scale clothing producer towards heading to e-business. The system was able to interoperate with the company's legacy ERP system and automated intra-business, business-to-business and business-to-customer processes. The overall approach was designed around open standards for data exchange and integrated as a set of off-the-shelf tools that assured a robust, scalable and fast development cycle. Particular attention was paid to the appropriate synchronization of the internal and external work and data flows, the improvement of supply chain management, the reduction of transactions costs through the appropriate process automation, the reduction of errors occurring during the traditional handling of business documents, the reduction of the company's inventory levels, and, finally, the establishment of a cooperative environment between the enterprise and its customers and suppliers.