Research On Supply Chain Information Synergy And Inter Organizational Coordination

This thesis mainly investigates the problem of information synergy, based on the background of Electronic Commerce. The impact of information synergy on the inter-organizational coordination and the performance of supply chain is analyzed and so does the risk of information synergy the supply chain members might undertake. This greatly enhanced the realistic meaning of the thesis.In order to respond to the ever-increasing uncertainties of the whole market, the enterprises of supply chain start to place emphases on the problem of supply chain collaboration. Through review of literature and theories, this thesis points out that information synergy has to be based on information sharing, however, more attention should be placed on the problem of sharing necessary information on the right time in most efficient way.In the chapter of inter-organizational coordination and information synergy, it investigates the construct of coordination cost from the view of inter-organizational theory. First we point out the coordination cost consists of transaction cost and cooperation cost. Then it is indicated that information synergy in supply chain can effectively lower negotiation cost and overseeing cost. However, cooperation cost might grow because of the investment of information system. At last, it analyzes the possible risk of information synergy.The thesis also discusses the characteristics of supply chain based on information synergy and the leading role information technology plays in it.Finally, the thesis constructs the models of both traditional supply chain and the supply chain which is based on information synergy with the method of Multi-Agent System modeling. In the latter one, members of the supply chain can freely communicate with each other and make share of their information. At last, the model is realized by using the tool of Swarm, a well-known simulation platform based on Multi-Agent System modeling. The observed results demonstrate a great jump on the whole supply chain's performance.