23Evolution of Supply Chains
supply chains. However, this intangible asset is hard to acquire, since goodwill takes time
to build. Both cooperative and competing supply chains need to continuously evolve to
address the complexity of having business partners reach common interests.
Lack of Effective Interorganizational Systems
IOS, such as enterprise systems, EDI, and extranets, transcend organizational boundar-
ies and link supply chain participants closely so that constant information ows can be
maintained. Streamlined information ows can help derive many business benets, rang-
ing from cost reduction, inventory reduction, mass customization, global communication,
minimization of response times, to improved information visibility. However