Abstract:

Within the e-business framework redesigning the supply chain in an e-business environment is a requisite to achieve reduced cost, increased efficiency and real time integration. This paper presents the initial part of a project aiming to examine Web services in a reengineered supply chain model.  Web services are proposed as an enabling technology for supporting supply chain reengineering. Four Web services patterns are identified that classify Web services in the supply chain and their role is examined within the e-supply chain environment, identifying benefits and weaknesses of the developing paradigm, such as addressing visibility and traceability issues.