First Supplier B2B Roadmap Released; Roadmap Details Modules and Interfaces for Typical E-Commerce B2B Systems - Brief Article

Information Superhighways Newsletter, March, 2001

The Supplier B2B Roadmap provides a logical view and a starting point for designing, developing, and deploying e-commerce B2B systems. The focus is to provide a baseline for e-commerce companies and trading partners, and to present the process flow for a fully functional e-commerce entity. By reviewing the individual sections, executives can determine what functionality current and proposed systems cover.

Developed in consultation with top CIOs, major consulting firms, and leading systems vendors worldwide, the Roadmap will enable analysts and users to better understand how to select and integrate appropriate e-commerce B2B systems within their companies in cooperation with their supply chain partners.

Two years ago, MoonWatch Media began the design of the Roadmap series with the Retail .Enterprise Roadmap. This map was conceived following requests from MoonWatch Media's retail customers for a logical view of their businesses. By visiting major retailers and studying corporate, distribution, and store systems, the well-known research company developed an analytical methodology for evaluating and prioritizing applications. This methodology resulted in a standardized view of the retail enterprise as illustrated by The Retail Enterprise Roadmap, released at Retail Systems 1999.

A logical extension of the Retail Enterprise Roadmap, The E-Commerce Roadmap, was released at Retail Systems 2000. The E-Commerce Roadmap expands upon the brick-and-mortar view of the Retail Enterprise Roadmap and integrates the key processes necessary for e-retail. The third in the series, The Supplier B2B Roadmap, logically displays the process flow for e-commerce B2B systems.

The Supplier B2B Roadmap also received support from Fleet, Ariba, Retek, Microsoft, bTrade.com, and Tradeweave, all leaders in business-to-business practices.