VI Special thanks also go to the employees of the case study companies for their open and friendly support. These are Bernhard Panther and Armin ZeiB from Bosch, Thomas Adler and Jiirgen Herb from Goodyear, Stefan Arnold and Wolfgang Gopfert from Porsche, Bernhard Oymann and Thomas Peilert from Schenker, as well as Ute Leppert and Jorg Mieger from SupplyOn. From SAP, Martin Edelmann, Claus Grunewald, Christian Lienert, Frank Klingl, Klaus Kreplin, Dr. Andreas Otto, Karsten Schierholt, and Dr. Stefan Theis gave us extraordinary support by sharing their know-how. Special thanks also go to Uwe Neuner from IBM for providing his know-how in the area SAP Business Connector. Finally, we would like to thank Matthias Kamberg, Daniel Horstkotte, and Zoe Tsesmelidakis from the FrankfurtlMain University as well as Isabel Kuttner, Tina Werthmann, and Patrick Johnscher of the Freiberg University of Technology (TV Freiberg) for their continuous friendly support while this book was being written. Moreover, we would like to thank Jennifer Brundage from SAP for translating the manuscript. The authors Preface for the First Edition The formation of inter-organizational cooperation is increasingly used to improve the partners' competitive position in a global world economy. This tendency can also be observed in logistics. Several "layers" are involved in a supply chain: vendors, manufacturers, retail companies, logistics service providers, and finally the end customers. Supply chain management attempts to optimize the flows of goods and information between companies.

Inter-organizational Cooperation with SAP Solutions - now in its second edition -describes the potential for cooperation in supply chain networks as well as the use of mySAP solutions in an inter-organizational context. The main focus is on applications from the fields of XML/EDI, data warehousing, supply chain management and electronic markets. On the basis of five case studies from the automotive industry, the use of mySAP solutions is demonstrated in practice. This second edition has been totally revised to take account of current challenges concerning building up cooperation from both the management and the software perspective. In order to achieve this, the author team was expanded.

The present work by Sascha Weber addresses procurement which deals with business partners beyond the boundaries of one's organization. Procurement refers to the function of purchasing goods and services from suppliers, whether raw material used to manufacture an organization's final products, maintenance and repair supplies, or capital goods such as machinery and buildings. Major decisions in procurement concern the selection of the right suppliers with whom to establish a business relationship, the design of purchasing contracts, and the selection of information technology used to support the procurement process. In recent years the progress in information technology not only provided opportunities to rationalize the existing way of organizing procurement, but also opened up new ways of conducting business as the emergence of virtual enterprises and electronic markets may indicate. The objective of Sascha Weber's research is to analyze and answer the question of how the use of information technology and expected progress influences procurement decisions of an organization. The analysis is conducted identifying important parameters which describe the relevant properties of information technology and supplier relationships. Information technology is distinguished flrstly in terms of the task which is supported between information technology used to support the evaluation of potential suppliers and information technology for the support of the execution of a supplier relationship.

Das Buch beschreibt die Potenziale zwischenbetrieblicher Kooperationen in Logistiknetzwerken sowie den unternehmensubergreifenden Einsatz von mySAP.com-Losungen. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Anwendungen aus den Bereichen XML/EDI, Data Warehouse, Supply-Chain-Management und Elektronische Marktplatze. Anhand von funf Fallstudien aus der Automobilindustrie wird der Praxiseinsatz von mySAP.com-Losungen demonstriert. Bei den Anwendern handelt es sich um die Unternehmen Bosch GmbH, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Schenker AG, Porsche AG sowie den Elektronischen Marktplatz SupplyOn.
Die vorliegende zweite Auflage wurde vollig uberarbeitet, um den aktuellen Herausforderungen an den Aufbau von Kooperationen sowohl aus Management- als auch aus Softwareperspektive Rechnung zu tragen. Dazu wurde zum einen das Autorenteam erweitert und zum anderen der Fallstudienteil der ersten Auflage ausgebaut."

Das Buch beschreibt die Potenziale zwischenbetrieblicher Kooperationen in Logistiknetzwerken sowie den unternehmensubergreifenden Einsatz von mySAP-Loesungen. Funf Fallstudien aus der Automobilindustrie (Bosch GmbH, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Schenker AG, Porsche AG, Elektronischer Marktplatz SupplyOn) demonstrieren den Praxiseinsatz von mySAP-Loesungen. Die Neuauflage mit erweitertem Autorenteam und noch mehr Fallstudien ist vollstandig uberarbeitet. Sie tragt den aktuellen Herausforderungen an den Aufbau von Kooperationen sowohl aus Management-Sicht als auch aus Software-Perspektive Rechnung.