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May 4, 2001

Behind The Numbers:
Data Exchanges Permeate Supply Chains

egardless of the business model, companies are realizing that success is a team effort. And a majority of businesses are sharing pertinent information with electronic supply-chain-members in hopes of achieving supply-chain objectives.

What's Shared Whether the market focus is business-to-business, business-to-consumer, or both, businesses are releasing information once restricted to internal use.

Half of the companies in InformationWeek Research's Information Sharing and Collaboration Study divulge marketing information, monthly or quarterly sales reports, and aggregated consumer data to members of their E-business supply chain.

But data exchanges do have limitations. Although willing to part with certain information, companies are keeping specific intelligence under wraps. Four in five of the study's B-to-B businesses refuse to share financial data with electronic supply-chain partners. Eighty-four percent of the B-to-C sites are reluctant to disclose details on individual client sales activities; that figure is 79% among companies that cater to the needs of both businesses and consumers.

But collaborative efforts with supply-chain members aren't evolving without difficulties. Complex or confusing processes and cost increases are two frequent issues being encountered. And companies that specialize in B-to-C commerce have more problems than companies in the other two groups.

Yet despite the hurdles involved, businesses are generally pleased with their collaborative efforts, rating the experience, more often than not, as positive.

Does your company share data with its E-business supply-chain members? Let us know at the address below.

Own the data behind InformationWeek's Research. See our available reports at http://informationweekresearch.com

Helen D'Antoni
Research Manager
hdantoni@cmp.com

Off Limits Select Disclosure
Today's business partner might not necessarily be tomorrow's.

This means that companies must tread a fine line between moving relationships forward and protecting themselves if things happen to change. A majority of businesses active in electronic supply chains are ensuring their future by drawing the line at sharing information pertaining to resource allocation.

In all, 70% of B-to-B companies polled by InformationWeek Research consider such information off-limits to their supply-chain partners. Reluctance to share this information is even higher among B-to-C companies and companies that work with both businesses and consumers. Three in four of these types of key businesses are opposed to disclosing data on resource allocation to their E-business supply-chain partners.

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Structured Control
Ad hoc requests can play havoc with work schedules and harm business dealings if handled inappropriately. That's why it's no wonder ad hoc reports aren't the primary way businesses are supplying company data to E-business supply-chain members. Structured reports at least allow a certain level of preparedness and timesaving. Only one in three B-to-B companies, one in five B-to-C companies, and two in five of businesses that deal with both permit electronic supply-chain associates access to company information by requesting on-demand ad hoc reports. Structured analysis, whether scheduled or on-demand, is the more common form of data sharing.

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Mixed Views
Are collaborative measures with E-business supply-chain partners proving a worthwhile business venture? Among the B-to-B companies and companies that work with both businesses and consumers in InformationWeek Research's Information Sharing & Collaboration Study, almost half report the experience as only somewhat positive. Among the study's B-to-C businesses, less than 30% rate collaborative relations as a somewhat positive endeavor.

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Missed Opportunities
Companies that work in partnership with E-business supply chains have learned that such affiliations slow reaction time when opportunities arise. Almost half of the study's B-to-C companies say business opportunities have been missed because of collaborative ties with electronic supply-chain members. Almost 30% of B-to-B sites have had the same experience, as have nearly two in five companies that cater to both businesses and consumers. Data quality issues are another upshot of collaborative efforts: Almost one-third of companies across all business models have had to deal with corrupt data as a result of information sharing within supply chains.