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February 21, 2000

Editor's Note:
ERP: Don't Forget The Back Office

Stephanie Stahl met recently with the CIO of a very successful E-business company. He showed a cartoon he often uses when speaking to his company's customers about how to build an effective E-business model. The illustration reveals a very fancy Web site-one that would grab anyone's attention, one that screams "buy my products!" with its colors and graphics."

But behind the beautiful facade was a bunch of busy, worn-out workers trying to take orders, build products, and ship them to customers. Lots of paper, lots of scrambling, lots of antiquated systems.

So what's the lesson? That even the most legacy-run shops can build nice Web sites? Well, not exactly. The point is that building an efficient E-business model that lets you gain customer knowledge, react quickly to market changes, and kick your competitors in the pants also requires back-end systems that let you manage inventory, manufacturing, human resources, order fulfillment, customer service, and other key processes.

The problem for many small and midsize companies is that the installation of an enterprise resource planning system (which handles many of these facets) is daunting. It's complex, it's expensive, and it requires highly skilled people. Even some large companies that have the resources to dedicate to such systems are running into complexities that are putting knots in their supply chains. Other companies are finding even bigger challenges integrating their Web storefronts with existing back-end systems.

While there is no one single, simple solution, the options for helping you manage complexity in your environment are growing. In this week's cover package (p. 34), associate editors Alorie Gilbert and Jennifer Mateyaschuk take a look at why some companies are turning to application service providers for ERP and other applications. And on page 36, associate editor Larry Greenemeier explores the rise of partnerships among services firms aiming to provide integration help for customers who don't have the talent, money, or time to do it themselves.

Also this week, senior editor Bob Wallace investigates the major telecom companies' quest to become supercarriers, offering an extensive range of their own E-services (p. 56).

If you want to gain more insight into ways to transform your enterprise into an E-business, join us at the InformationWeek Spring Conference, March 5 to 8 in Amelia Island, Fla. You'll learn how successful companies are integrating technology, how they are dealing with the velocity of change, how they are building an internal culture that's adaptable to change, and more. For more go to informationweek.com/events/2000springconference.

STEPHANIE STAHL
Editor
sstahl@cmp.com

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