ABSTRACT
Introduction Over the past 15 or so years, enterprise solution providers (software companies, systems integrators, and consultants) have very successfully persuaded companies to replace their proprietary systems with “off-the-shelf” solutions. These solutions have now become the transactional backbones for these companies, and, accordingly, are very difficult to replace. However, whether deployed in finance, human resources, sales, or the supply chain, these solutions are primarily focused on solving
the problems within the enterprise or silos within the enterprise. For the most part, solving cross-functional or inter-enterprise problems remains beyond their capabilities. In addition, these solutions have predetermined workflows that “pour in concrete” a company’s method for handling business processes.
