ABSTRACT
A roadmap describes a path from a starting point to a destination. The destination for the e-factory roadmap is an e-factory operating environment that consists of an integration of process and technology. One of the objectives of an e-factory roadmap is to define a clear path to a process and technology destination. Because the e-factory is a new and rapidly evolving facet of ecommerce, creating the roadmap will likely include discovery of internal needs and external requirements as well as definition of which turns to take when the proverbial “fork in the road” is encountered. One of the fundamental questions that will often require discovery is the determination of the eventual destination. While the roadmap methodology described in Chapter 8 is designed to assist in the discovery process, the overall effort to get to the detailed definition of an e-factory can be optimized if there is an initial vision of the destination. The purpose of this chapter is to describe how to obtain an initial vision and what should be included in such a vision.
