B2B Integration : A Practical Guide to Collaborative E-commerce

Components, Benefits, Challenges and Applications of B2B Integration 25
2.1. The Word is Out
The word is out: dynamic business collaboration on the Internet is a
strategic imperative. There is a great hustle and bustle going on in
IT and business divisions of all companies either to kick start or,
having done so, to quickly finish the integration process that provides a
seamless, end-to-end solution for integrating customers, partners and
suppliers.
In this chapter, we will discuss all the major components of B2Bi,
the bottom line benefits of B2Bi to companies and the challenges that
they may face in B2Bi implementation. This is followed by an
introduction to a few major applications enabled by B2Bi, such as
supply chain management (SCM), B2B exchanges and collaborative
networks.
2.2. B2Bi Components
B2Bi consists of multiple components, each one being of different
priority for different companies. It may not be possible to incorporate
all the components in the first phase of B2Bi implementation; however,
it is prudent to at least include them in long-term B2Bi goals.
2.2.1. Integration patterns
Companies can achieve B2Bi using one or more of the following
integration patterns (see Figure 2.1):
• Data oriented integration;
• Application oriented integration;
• Portal oriented integration; and
• Business process oriented integration.
Most of the companies have to use a combination of these patterns
to achieve integration with their trading partners. The choice of the
integration pattern is based on several factors, including the nature of
integration agreement with the trading partners, degree of synchronization
required, budget, short-term and long-term business goals.