The Role of Information Technology Knowledge in B2B Development

A model of EDI integration and strategic business reengineering

Replacing the traditional paper mode of communication by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between trading partners opens up a great deal of opportunities. Similar to other information technologies, however, the mere implementation of EDI does not guarantee a windfall. A series of studies over the past six years at Carnegie Mellon University has attempted to identify the necessary conditions for realizing EDI benefits. This report will summarize two major lessons learnt from this research program. The first lesson is that the implementation of EDI does not automatically generate strategic advantage for a supplier. A closer look at the EDI system characteristics is necessary to fully understand the potential for strategic benefits of EDI. The second lesson emphasizes that EDI can lead to operational benefits through changes within the internal processes in an organization. The key to realizing these benefits lies in the specific transaction sets implemented and the level of EDI integration.

지금까지 EDI의 연구는 EDI 도입과 성과에 초점이 맞추어져 왔다. 그러나 최근 EDI의 확산에 관한 연구가 증가하고 있다. 이 연구의 목적은 첫째, EDI 확산의 여러 요인을 찾고, 두 번째 EDI 확산 요인과 EDI 확산 정도와의 관계를 밝혀보고자 한다. 이러한 목적을 달성하기 위해 본 연구에서 채택된 두가지 방법론은 첫째, 선행연구들을 폭넓게 분석하여 모델을 구축하는 것이며, 둘째 EDI 확산요인을 탐색하는 실험적 연구방법이다. 본 연구가설을 검증한 결과 첫째, EDI 내부확산에 영향을 미치는 중요한 변수들은 최고경영자의 지원, 업무범위, 정보기반, 적합성, 복잡성, 상대적 이익, 경쟁정도, 거래상대방 압력을 들 수 있고, 둘째 EDI의 외부확산에 영향을 미치는 주요 변수들은 최고 경영자의 지원, 업무범위, 정보기반, 적합성, 상대적 이익, 경쟁정도, 거래상대방 압력 이다. 최고경영자의 지원, 업무 범위, 정보기반, 적합성, 상대적 이익, 경쟁 정도 그리고 거래상대방 압력이 EDI 내부확산과 외부확산에 동시에 영향을 미치는 것을 알 수 있다. Until now, most of studies on Electronic Data Interchange(EDI) have been focused on the introduction of EDI and the performance of EDI. But recently, there have been increasing researches on diffusion of Electronic Data Interchange. The aims of this study are twofold. First, to find the impacts of various factors on EDI diffusion, second, to examine the relationship between EDI diffusion factors and EDI diffusion degree. To accomplish those aims of study, two kinds of methodologies are adopted in the studies, First, model building by wide investigation on previous papers, Second, empirical research for finding the determinants of diffusion of EDI. The results of testing the hypotheses of this research are summarized as follows. First, The important EDI diffusion variables influencing internal diffusion of EDI consist of top management support, scope for EDI, IS sophistication, compatibility, complexity, relative advantages, competition intensity and external pressure. Second, Top management support, scope for EDI, IS sophistication, compatibility, relative advantages, competition intensity and external pressure are associated with external diffusion of EDI. We are aware of the important fact that top management support, scope for EDI, IS sophistication, compatibility, relative advantage, competition intensity and external pressure were simultaneously associated with internal and external diffusion of EDI.

Electronic data interchange (EDI) provides means for interorganizational communication, creates network externalities, requires an advanced information technology (IT) infrastructure, and relies on standards. In the diffusion of such innovations, institutional involvement is imperative. Such institutions contain governmental agencies, national and global standardization organizations, local government, and nonprofit private organizations like industry associations. The last type of organizations we call intermediating institutions. They intermediate or coordinate ("inscribe") the activities of a group of would-be adopters. Unfortunately, little is known of how these organizations shape the EDI diffusion trajectory. In this article we examine one specific type of intermediating organizations?industry associations?and how they advanced the EDI diffusion process in the grocery sectors of Hong Kong, Denmark and Finland. We identify six institutional measures, placed into a matrix formed by the mode of involvement (influence vs. regulation) and the type of diffusion force (supply push vs. demand pull), that can be mobilized to further the EDI diffusion. Industry associations were found to be active users of all these measures to varying degrees. Their role was critical especially in knowledge building, knowledge deployment, and standard setting. Furthermore, institutional involvement varied due to policy and cultural contingencies and power dependencies.

:This paper examines the relationship between process reengineering and channel performance for firms implementing electronic data interchange (EDI) ordering within the U.S. grocery industry. Both quantitative and qualitative data sources are combined to demonstrate that channel transformation (interorganizational reengineering) involving both technological innovation (EDI) and redesign of replenishment processes enables performance improvements more than an order of magnitude greater than implementation of EDI ordering alone. New replenishment processes, enabled by EDI, provide retailers with 50–100 percent higher inventory turns for products using continuous replenishment processes (CRP) relative to retailer performance using traditional ordering processes. Firms adopting EDI for ordering without reengineering ordering processes have failed to realize statistically significant improvements in inventory levels or stockouts. This demonstrates the potential for extending the business process reengineering concept to include the entire supply chain.

Although the potential for EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) to improve performance of firms involved in industry value chain is widely known, little evidence regarding improved performance for the entire supply channel has been reported. Some researchers have found that EDI networks can benefit EDI champion, but it remains largely unclear whether EDI adopters—who are often coerced to implement the electronic networks by the champion—gain similar payoffs from their EDI investments. To measure impacts of EDI investments for the EDI adopters, we have investigated the performance of 31 grocery retail chains (EDI adopters) that implemented EDI networks with Campbell (EDI champion) for a supply channel reengineering innovation known as “continuous replenishment process.” Analysis of daily data on inventory and stockouts levels for the 31 retail chains demonstrates that these EDI adopters have achieved a significant increase in their inventory turns while simultaneously reducing stockouts as a result of this EDI-enabled supply channel reengineering. This paper thus provides empirical evidence that EDI adopters can achieve dramatic performance improvements if EDI networks are used for interfirm process reengineering.

A recent survey of electronic data interchange (EDI) managers and their key end users finds that, although EDI managers are somewhat more optimistic about EDI than their end users, there are few significant differences of opinion. Interestingly, both believe that their firms have realized indirect benefits from EDI such as improvements in competitive advantage more than direct cost reductions. With regard to compatibility, EDI managers believe that there were fewer disruptions and that users learned to use EDI faster than did users.

To compete effectively in today’s global marketplace,a company must have a competitive supply chain. A competitive supply chain requires an ability to communicate rapidly and accurately. Electronic Data Interchange(EDI) is one method that world class organizations have successfully used to improve the communication of orders and design changes. However, the growth in use of EDI has been much slower than projected. This article discusses the results of a survey to identify some of the barriers to the use of EDI and some possible methods to overcome those barriers. The results of this study show that organizational resistance to change is lower for EDI users than for non users. The results further indicate that awareness of technical issues is higher for EDI users. Suggestions regarding how to help overcome the barriers to using high technology innovations such as EDI are provided.

For many large retail companies with many suppliers, the utopian vision of total paperless trading offered by traditional electronic data interchange (EDI), with its attendant efficiencies, has not been realized. Many small but operationally important suppliers lack enthusiasm for traditional EDI because it is expensive, complicated and they stand to gain little from it. This non-compliance prevents the large organization from realizing some of the most significant tactical benefits of EDI such as advanced supply chain reforms. This paper presents a case study of a large retail organization which is approaching this problem by integrating Internet-based EDI with its existing traditional EDI systems using an intelligent gateway. The case study is used to generate propositions about the future significance of Internet EDI.

A review of the literature showed that there appears to be very little research undertaken on Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) adoption by small to medium sized business (SMEs) particularly in Singapore. This study is a preliminary attempt to quantify this area. Using a survey-based methodology, the research examined EDI adoption. Results indicate that Singapore SMEs confirm findings by some researchers that EDI adoption is significantly associated with a firm’s annual sales but is not significantly associated with employee size as other studies have shown (Rogers, Daugherty, & Stank, 1992). This study is at odds with previous single-dimension EDI adoption studies indicating a significant relationship between firm size (annual sales) and EDI depth (Williams, Magee, & Suzuki, 1998). Organization size showed a significant relationship with the volume and diversity of EDI use but not with the depth and breadth. The most important reason for Singaporean SMEs to adopt EDI was pressure from their EDI-capable trading partners, treating pressure from their competitors as the least important.

Factors affecting the implementation of electronic data interchange in Korea

This paper studies the determinants of electronic data interchange (EDI) adoption and use in the Spanish automotive supply industry and the moderation effect of cooperation within the supply chain. The empirical results indicate that EDI adopters perceive more operational benefits, more external pressure and mutual understanding, and less technical and organisational difficulties than do non-adopters. The use of EDI is greater among suppliers that perceive more strategic benefits and less cost and organisational difficulties, have a proactive management, are less dependent on suppliers, and adopt EDI earlier. Cooperation is a moderator of organisational difficulties for EDI adoption and use, and strategic benefits for EDI use.

The complex supply chain relations of the construction industry, coupled with the substantial amount of information to be shared on a regular basis between the parties involved, make the traditional paper‐based data interchange methods inefficient, error prone and expensive. The successful information technology (IT) applications that enable seamless data interchange, such as the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems, have generally failed to be successfully implemented in the construction industry. An alternative emerging technology, Extensible Markup Language (XML), and its applicability to streamline business processes and to improve data interchange methods within the construction industry are analysed, as is the EDI technology to identify the strategic advantages that XML technology provides to overcome the barriers to implementation. In addition, the successful implementation of XML‐based automated data interchange platforms for a large organization, and the proposed benefits thereof, are presented as a case study.

Nowadays, the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is considered an indispensable tool for interchanging data and transactions between auto parts and vehicle companies. Since the decade of 80, the EDI was adopted by automobile industry and this process was led by vehicles manufacturers that had determined the adoption of this system for their supcliers. This research carried through an exploratory survey, to analyze how the implantation and use of the EDI, in the automobile industry, has been occurred, under the point of view of small and average companies of the sector, having observed positive and negative aspects associated to the implantation through five theoretical models that deal with the EDI and the Interorganizational Systems (IOS). Regarding to the stage of implementation of the EDI (model of Lummus & Duclus) it was observed that the companies are in the period of transaction, with low level of integration with internal systems. The amplitude of partners (model of Tuunainem) with that the companies carry through EDI are small, and the type of appropriation (model of Subramani) is exploitation. The analysis of the interorganizacionais relations (model of Bensaou and Venkatraman) disclosed that much few areas use this technology, and that the vehicle manufacturer use the coercitive power in the implantation process. Although this, the interviewed ones consider that exists reliable in the relation b its companies and vehicle manufacturer. Based on this survey, we verified that the characteristics and benefits gotten with the use of systems EDI for the studied companies of auto parts are very small, compared with the models.

1. EDI is held back by inflexibility and complexity for users. This is partly due to the antiquated X12 and EDIFACT standards. 2. Truly automatic translation between two disparate databases, or between EDI and a database not set up just for EDI, requires machine representation of the concepts and meaning of the data schema, not just the schema. 3. The database world has reluctantly begun to recognize this, and that common ontologies are needed for true automated integration. The EDI community, due to its particular culture, may never realize it. 4. The real-world “common ontology” is actually the most valuable thing about EDIFACT and X12, but it is informal, in English, and unavailable for any computational use. 5. The current major Artificial Intelligence efforts to build large generic ontologies should be applied to automate EDI translations and do useful inference; also, AI ontologists can exploit thousands of practical real-world concept-categories from EDI standards EDIFACT and X12. These provide good target concepts for us to define.