Theoretical Basics for Developing Business Information Systems for Jointly Managing Uncertainty, Communication, and Trust in Supply Chains

Uncertainty is a major problem in any supply chain Inventory and excess capacities used to cope with uncertainty are significant cost drivers. Advanced information systems have been employed to support information exchange along the supply chain and were successful in synchronizing supply and demand and downsizing inventories. However, close cooperation requires mutual trust as a basis. Current information systems do not specifically address this issue. This paper outlines the relation of uncertainty to communication and trust and sketches approaches for information systems to enable integrated process-oriented cooperation and trust management.