Multiple case studies of total enterprise integration programs: lessons and benefits

The nature of competition is changing both in terms of the dynamics of market requirements and who the competitors are. The changing market requirements create the need for uninhibited flow of information up and down the organisation and across the value-added network. As organisations cooperate to compete, competition is increasingly between value-added chains rather than between companies. Integration of organisations in the value-added chains, resulting in extended enterprises, where product and process design of an organisation will have to reflect the operating conditions of customers' customers and suppliers' suppliers, has therefore become of a very significant importance to the emerging reality of competition between value-added chains. But, building a solid foundation for the integration of an extended enterprise must start with integration of internal capabilities, facility and functions within individual enterprises. It is against this background that the enterprise-wide integration programs in three companies have been studied and reported in this paper for the purpose of deeper understanding of the requirements, problems, lessons, benefits and implications of the effort. The three case study companies include aerospace, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications companies with extensive international business interests.