Re-Engineering of Logistics Activities for Electronic Commerce

Abstract

In order to achieve a successful implementation of electronic commerce (EC), it is necessary to “re-engineer” the logistics activities of the enterprise. This chapter first presents and analyses the features of EC, i.e., the typical content of Web sites and technological and operational requirements, for the implementation of each of the four stages of EC (Brochureware, e-commerce, e-business, and e-enterprise). Then the concepts, techniques, and tools that may contribute to the successful implementation of EC are surveyed. Finally, a self-diagnosis tool is presented to initiate the re-engineering process. The self-diagnosis tool details the company’s profile in view of an EC implementation and identifies the operational activities that need to be reviewed, upgraded, integrated or outsourced.