Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2006. / This research investigates the ordering process between small suppliers and
retailers and the role of the Internet in this process. Product ordering and
fulfilment are both important components of a supply chain, of which suppliers
and retailers are members. The Internet as an enabling technology has an
important role to play in supply chains and therefore also in order processing.
Internet technology facilitates Business-to-Business (B2B) transactions. Retailers and their suppliers collaborate to align production with customer
demands. Internet-enabled B2B supports this collaboration between businesses,
allowing them to gain knowledge about customer demands real-time. This
enables them to determine the impact of these demands on their operations.
Using the Internet has the advantage that it provides an ever present link that is
less costly than private networks and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). When
the Internet is used to facilitate trade and commerce between businesses, ecommerce
is established. With Internet-enabled B2B (or B2B e-commerce),
multiple suppliers are connected to multiple customers. This reduces production
cycle times, reduces inventory, improves speed and quality of communications
and reduces costs. This research investigates suppliers in the retail supply chain and focuses more
specifically on small businesses due to their reported importance in the South
African economy. They provide employment to a large portion of the country's
population and contribute almost half to the economic activity. Small suppliers
form part of supply chains and have to adhere to the demands exerted by larger
supply chain members in order to be included in such supply chains. Small
suppliers have just as an important role to fulfil in supply chains as larger
companies. Small suppliers are also responsible for connecting and integrating
supply chain members and in so doing, reduce costs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/2296 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Voges, Frederik Wilhelm |
| Contributors | Warden, SC, Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Faculty of Informatics and Design. Dept. of Information Technology. |
| Publisher | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/ |
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