Does IT Matter?

Electronic Data Interchange

One of the ways that information systems have participated in competitive advantage is through integrating the supply chain electronically. This is primarily done through a process called electronic data interchange, or EDI. EDI can be thought of as the computer-to-computer exchange of business documents in a standard electronic format between business partners. By integrating suppliers and distributors via EDI, a company can vastly reduce the resources required to manage the relevant information. Instead of manually ordering supplies, the company can simply place an order via the computer and the next time the order process runs, it is ordered.

EDI example