OVERVIEW

As the business firm overcomes the pitfalls encountered in the early levels of its supply chain progress and has its internal house in order, in terms of its ability to develop and share best processing electronically and on an intraenterprise basis, the transition to higher levels can occur. Now the firm moves, with the help of a few carefully selected business allies, into an extended enterprise or network environment, in search of higher orders of improvement, which can bring additional benefits/values to all participants. Mattel, Inc. found higher values in its network, when that toy maker used the Internet with the help of designers and licensees to collaborate on new product design. The firm moved design on-line so that virtual models of new products could be transferred electronically, instead of through the usual manual system. Development time was reduced by 20%. By digitizing and automating the transfer of information between Mattel and its licensees, the company found that approvals could be accomplished in 5 five weeks, instead of the normal 14.

Unfortunately, the idea of network collaboration does not come easily for most organizations, nor does the technical means to facilitate such cooperation. Indeed, the concept of creating greater value through an intelligent value network can be elusive. In today's business environment, selling value is an extremely difficult job, as there are few people who understand the idea or will expend resources to develop these values. Those willing to do so generally reside at high levels in a few...