Prototyping an information system's requirements architecture for customer-driven, supply-chain operations

This paper describes the rationale for the development of three Internet-enabled prototype information systems and presents a case study for each system. The prototypes are applications developed to support the e-supply ambitions of three companies and their supply-chain partners by allowing production information created at the prime tier to be made accessible to first-, second- and third-tier suppliers. Each prototype consists of a series of information systems' trials, and the impact of these trials on supply-chain performance is established using a range of indicators aggregated in the form of a scorecard. The scorecard for each prototype is compared with an equivalent scorecard used to establish the performance of the original supply-chain configuration. The prototypes reveal a potential opportunity for using the Internet to share supply-chain information and demonstrate how timely access to accurate production (or demand) information can enable second- and third-tier suppliers to align their manufacturing activities with final product assembly at the prime tier, improve build-to-order capability and make efficiency gains in terms of inventory reduction and lead-time compression. In one highlighted trial, the pipeline inventory and supply-chain cycle time were reduced from 53 days to less than 7 days.