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Heidingsfelder, M., Benecchi, A., Dergis, M., Rasche, J., Flynn, M., Senter, R., Belzowski, B.M. 2001. Automotive System Integrators: Spiders or Flies in the E-Business Web?.
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In this study, we focus on System Integrators (SI), because of their importance as the nodes linking OEMs to the wider supply base. The key question that we address is whether System Integrators will weave the e-Business web or be trapped in it. We selected two critical threads, Product Development (up and down the supply chain) and Relationship Management (toward OEM customers), to discuss and highlight both the potential benefits and the risks of e-Business tools and solutions for System Integrators. These threads are critical because: > Both the quantity and the value of the interactions are high. > The uncertainties of the key industry tensions are particularly evident, especially in how they will influence the lower tiers. > The direction taken by the System Integrators will clearly influence their competitive advantage, as well as the shifts in the power balance. Four tensions define the e-Business web We identify four key “tensions” in the industry. How the industry resolves them will determine the speed and direction of change. How System Integrators deal with them will define their strategic direction and whether or not they are ultimately successful.