Management of Buyer-Supplier Related Information in a Multichannel Environment

Abstract

Multiple communication channels, applications and systems make it hard for businesses to keep track on internal and external information flows. This is especially a challenge for purchasing as the involvement of upstream and downstream suppliers increase complexity of information management. Often it is not clear who has received which kind of information, at what time, in which version, from which channel. Specifically, in case of document updates or changes, it poses a major challenge to have the most current version available. The thesis investigates the advantages of explicitly and comprehensively managing buyer-supplier related information for the purchasing department. Furthermore, it contributes to close the research gap in the literature regarding management of buyer-supplier related information, by providing an information management framework for the explicit and comprehensive management buyer-supplier related information....