E-commerce and its impact on operations management

Electronic commerce (EC) is possibly the most promising application of information technology witnessed in recent years. It is revolutionizing supply-chain management and has enormous potential for manufacturing, retail and service operations. The tremendous importance of EC has prompted us to write this paper. We have attempted to define e-commerce and examine major EC elements that link organizational systems. The application of EC in manufacturing, retailing and service operations is examined, and a framework for describing EC components and their role in different areas of an organization is proposed. Finally, we summarize our findings and conclusions.