eBusiness initiatives, such as Portal Systems, alleviate information bottlenecks between "value chain" partners by minimizing the cumbersome administrative tasks associated with inter-business process communication.

The Internet syndicates information out to an enterprise's supply and demand chain partners (and their associated IT systems) accelerating the chain's data velocity. This shortens time-to-market, maximizes sourcing efforts, and enables key personnel to focus on their specific responsibilities.

Supply Management

• Designers collaborate directly with prospective vendors, management and operations sharing documents, CAD and 3-D modeling data in real-time under version and release control;
• Procurement and purchasing agents generate Request for Quotes (RFQ) online, identify a [much larger] number of prospective suppliers and streamline sourcing efforts via real-time bidding;
• Shipping departments communicate online to freight forwarding and consolidators with Advance Shipping Notices (ASN), bill of lading and material tracking to provide precise location of both warehoused and in transit materials;
• Operations share production schedules directly with external and overseas manufacturing facilities in real time, ensuring demand/supply schedule coordination, thereby minimizing "bullwhip" effects.

Demand Management

• Accounting departments operate online via a secure transaction network, minimizing risk and management uncertainty;
• Merchandising departments share promotional programs and contractual documents with established retail outlets 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week (24x7);
• Channel managers disseminate sales history, order status and other critical (yet often cumbersome) information without consuming valuable "selling time" of the channel;
• Marketing and advertising departments push and pull information directly to/from the consumer, fostering a "dialog" with the enterprise's number one asset ...its customers.