It has become a very important metric in assessing successful performance of e-businesses activity. .
A key aspect of e-business SCM is that the customer is the focus of activity in the supply chain universe. SCM is knowledge and speed driven. In SCM it is important that all participants involved in the supply chain have visibility of processes and are able to react to the customer's order. Information is typically transferred between participants via the Internet using an extranet or virtual private network (VPN) connection. The customer's order is the event that triggers actions to control business supply and demand. Prior to web-based e-business, the process of controlling the supply chain was driven by the manufacturer's plans. This planning process was asset based and not sensitive to the customer desires. "In the old system supply chain functions were accomplished through faxes, phone calls, and guesses". Today the customer is king and he/she is driving the supply chain mechanisms by events they create. One reason for this is that parity in product quality has been achieved among competitors to a great extent, which has eliminated quality as a product discriminator. Customer expectations are very high and consumers continue to demand better service and faster delivery of the products they buy. Companies have realized that they can gain a competitive advantage by just reducing customer cycle times. .
Web based SCM provides a means for total involvement of the customer, supplier, retailer, manufacturer, and other participants that are linked by the supply chain. Applications that enable SCM on the Internet need to be easy to use and easy to connect to, to simplify implementation. Web based SCM applications should provide the following features to improve supply chain efficiencies:.
• Connect electronically to trading partners via a user's enterprise system. .
• Provide a low cost communication channel.
