This session will set the stage for two additional sessions on electronic business at the conference. This session will provide an overview of what is evolving in electronic business. It will establish a common framework in which to view some very significant changes that are now occurring in the Information Technology (IT) marketplace, provide insight into the technologies that are enabling that change, and propose possible scenarios that will fundamentally change the way information technology applications are viewed, purchased, and used.

Who Should Attend:

Corporate executives who want to understand what significant changes in IT will affect their business. Information technology professionals who are interested in where the market is going and how it will affect their responsibilities.

Session Agenda:

2:00 pm – 2:30 pm
User Perspective/Needs

4:45 pm – 5:00 pm
Questions and Answers

Objectives:

1. Provide an overview of electronic business,
2. Describe some of the trends in information technology affecting business,
3. Identify key IT areas that will have significant impact on manufacturers,
4. Forecast major paradigm shift in the development and delivery of manufacturing systems,
5. Set the stage for a continuation of programs on electronic business.

Background:

Electronic business is one of the fastest moving areas affecting manufacturers today. With the increased performance and reduced cost of desktop computing hardware, the pervasiveness of the Internet, new object technologies, and radical marketing tactics of some of the major IT suppliers, manufactures are about to enter a new age of business—electronic business. Applications like Enterprise Resource Planning, Supply Chain Management, Advanced Planning & Scheduling, and Product Data Managers are leading the way ... and the companies who supply them are intending to change the fundamental relationship between themselves and their customers. This session will explore that change.

Technique:

Information technology experts and corporate IT executives will provide insight into this fast paced area. Users of electronic business applications will describe their needs, suppliers will discuss how they intend to meet these needs, and those people who make their living forecasting the future of electronic business will make a few projections as to where all these forces will take manufacturers in the future.

Session Steve Ricketts - 734-995-7072, stever@ncms.org