Use of simulation gaming to assess impact of inter-organizational information sharing on inventory performance

Supply chains are inter or intra-organizational systems which successively transform raw materials into finished goods and deliver them to customers. Lack of coordination between parties within these chains can create considerable inefficiencies Information technology provides an opportunity to reduce these inefficiencies, especially the use of EDI and point-of-sale (POS) information capture and distribution. In a pilot empirical study, point-of-sale automation was found to improve the performance of the entire chain, but also to lessen the competitive advantage of retailers. The impact on competitive advantages is likely to impact decisions concerning the design or adoption of information systems for POS data sharing.