Building a supply chain ecosystem – How the Enterprise Connectivity Interface (ECI) will enable and support interorganisational collaboration

This chapter proposes a model how to setup IT supported interorganisational collaboration in the current world where IT and business collaboration is intertwined. Businesses have been struggling to achieve supply chain integration for both technical and organizational reasons. This hinders effective collaboration with partners: vertical collaboration with suppliers and customers, as well as horizontal collaboration with competitors. This paper gives a literature overview of the current challenges within supply chain collaboration. The suggested Enterprise Connectivity Interface approach is inspired on the popular API model that enables connectivity between software systems. We reflect how such quick connectivity can be applied also on a business level.