IOS Integration
What are the main challenges for IOS design and implementation? What is your observation of supply chain management? Investigate your company’s supply chain and find out what are the potential risks.
Currently, any business’s success is linked to the type of information system that they have in place, the best system enhances its competitive advantages over rivals. There is a basic feature that the best information system must have to foster business progression, this is the ability to link the business to its distributors, suppliers, and customers efficiently (Johnson & Vitale, 1988). For this reason, systems like inter-organizational systems are adopted by organizations or businesses to ease the movement of information across their boundaries hence creating that direct link with stakeholders. IOS can be defined as an automated information system shared amongst companies. Its design has various challenges n designing and implementing.
Because of the competitiveness in the business sphere, some unethical practices have been associated with IOS. The IOS abilities vary depending on one organization to the other. However, the system is designed to assist organizations integrate different vital business processes and share information on billing, procurement, and sales (Kmmar & Han, 1996). Consequently, the implementation and maintenance of these systems cost a substantial amount of money. The cost of interfacing one business internal system to those of other organizations is quite expensive hence posing a challenge (Halonen, 2007). Another aspect is that of culture, different organizations have different cultures on how work is done, appreciations or rewards are awarded and his limits its implementation due to conflict of interests.
As often noted a firm’s capability in managing its supply is its highest competitive advantage among competitors. The best part of taking charge of the supply chain is by first, evaluating its performance, and how the supply chain differs from other firms. The evaluation is through a quantitative measure that the IOS provides guidelines in comparison with other organizations. The availability of this data on the integrated platform poses risks of exposing the company’s weakness to other competitors. The information can be used to disadvantage our company.
Reference
Johnson H. Russell & Vitale R. Michael. (June 1988). Creating Competitive Advantage with Interorganizational Information System. MIS Quarterly
Kumar Kldeep & Han G Van Dissel. (September 1996). Sustainable Collaboration: Managing Conflict and Cooperation in Interorganizational Systems. MIS Quarterly
Halonen Raija. (2007) Challenges In an Inter-Organizational Information System Implementation. OULUN YLIOPISTO, OULU