What strategic alignment, process redesign, enterprise resource planning, and e‐commerce have in common: enterprise‐wide computing

Unlike other purchases of information technology that have failed to deliver measurable improvements in corporate performance, enterprise‐wide information systems in the manufacturing industry have immediate and positive impact on the bottom line. The transition from strategic alignment as the basis for IT investment, to redesigned business processes as the critical elements of organizational strategic planning to which IT investments must be targeted, to the integration of these processes into enterprise‐wide systems, to e‐commerce is examined. With supply chain collaboration, information systems have exited corporate boundaries.