ABSTRACT
Recently, the managers of a failing steel supplier gambled on an investment in Internet technology. The company created an extranet so that major customers could view available steel inventory and submit bids over a secured Internet environment. By giving customers direct access to the firm’s inventory data, bids were more rapidly evaluated and time spent by salesclerks in faxing out information and answering customers’ questions was greatly reduced. The company then extended the system to include order entry and order tracking. This application allowed customers to track the progress of their own orders in the plant or yard and in transit. Customers liked the new system better than talking to salesclerks over the phone; it was more convenient and quicker. The steel company, which had been in danger of being shut down, was able to increase sales while cutting sales and service people. The system was inexpensive to introduce and provided a rapid payback. What seemed like a gamble ended up saving the company.
