An Assessment of Organizational B-2-B eBusiness Readiness and Status: The case of a Multinational Manufacturing Enterprise

Abstract

Electronic Business (e-business) is an evolving model that is rapidly changing the context and boundaries of organizations and how they relate to their supply chain members. The pressures of globalization, competition and technology continue to drive organizations towards achieving integration beyond the borders of a single business, to offer seamless event driven transactions and information sharing. While in the past organizations tended to implement e-business capabilities without careful evaluation of their value to the business, today, e-readiness assessment have emerged as a necessary first step in selection and prioritization of e-business initiatives. This research is an assessment of the readiness status of one of the leading manufacturing enterprises in Kenya. It is composed of an assessment of the e-business strategy and the level of investment in technology which are indicators of the organization's readiness for e-business on the one hand and a focus on the extent of automation of both the supply and demand chain, which are indicators of execution of e-business strategy on the other. The research indicates that although the organization is internally ready for e-business, external impediments have limited the extent to which it can reap the benefits of value chain integration. Similarly, it also indicates that the pre-requisites for e-business success are -largely internal rather than external, hence organizations can achieve a ;lot by improving their own internal readiness before extending the scope of their e-business initiatives. Finally, the research indicates that more -work needs to be done with particular focus on specific business sectors but with the participation of a wider cross section of organizations in order understand the deficiencies of small and large organizations in greater depth.