Issues in the Design and Evaluation of e-Supply Chains

E-procurement, e-tailing and e-marketplaces are examples of e-business applications that have revolutionized certain processes in supply chains and have given rise to e-supply chains. Although the advantages are numerous, adopting inappropriate e-business applications may prove detrimental. Hence, firms contemplating on e-business adoption must understand the impact of such a venture not only on their own firm but also on the supply chain. It is obvious that numerous factors, situations and context must be considered in designing and evaluating the performance of e-supply chains. This calls for research into the understanding of supply chain dynamics in the presence of e-business. In this chapter, via an in-depth literature review on e-business, supply chain management, e-supply chains and supply chain performance, we discovered that the Contingency Framework lends itself well as the basis on which to mould our proposed framework. Combining this with Innovation Diffusion Theory, we then posit the contingency framework for the design of e-supply chains and the e-supply chain evaluation framework. The applicability of the frameworks is illustrated in a case study that is conducted at a brake manufacturer which is on the verge of embarking into e-business. The chapter concludes with discussions on the implications and limitations of the frameworks.