Abstract :
Manufacturing industry once known for its archaic management and information systems, has experienced many twists and turns in its direction over the last ten years from MRPII to the ever-developing ERP systems, which today control many aspects of the business. Now the industry is gravitating from EDI systems to E-commerce for business-to-business and business-to-consumer trade. As manufacturers fight for supremacy in the market, E-commerce heralds perhaps the most exciting time in a long while for the industry. Statistics supplied by KPMG Management Consulting show that two-thirds of respondents think that E-commerce is vital to global competitiveness. Forrester Research, on the other hand, estimates that 38% of all worldwide business done over the Web this year will be transacted by manufacturers of durable goods, mainly electronics and aerospace parts.
