On the tight type, integration is significant factor, with a number of enterprises sharing common data and processes. In this case, enterprises attempt to function as one (virtual) organisation. For instance, a food retailer and its suppliers integrate their IT infrastructures to control and improve promotion management. Suppliers might gain access to retailer IT infrastructure and retrieve information relating to their own products and promotions. Suppliers could analyse the availability and sales of their products, and replace them according to the agreement they have with the retailer. In such a scenario, both suppliers and retailer share common business processes and IT infrastructures.
From a technical perspective, Themistocleous et al. [29] propose that EAI is achieved at three integration layers namely:
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Transportation layer, which transfers the information from source application to the integration infrastructure and from the latter to the target application.
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Transformation layer that translates the information from source application format to target system structure.
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Process automation layer, which integrates the business processes and controls the integration mechanism.
Application elements like data, objects and processes are transferred from the source application to the target through the integration layers. The source and target applications can be systems that are based on packaged (e.g. ERP), custom (e.g. legacy) and e-business (e.g. e-store) categories. The authors have conducted an extensive review of the normative literature and analysed 15 case studies (e.g. General Motors, Bosch Group, Fujitsu Corporation). In doing so, identifying the permutations of system types that are pieced together in inter-organisational supply chains. Table 2 illustrates that organisations integrate the three aforementioned system types (custom, packaged and e-business solutions) by making all (seven) unique permutations. Based on these permutations, the authors define classifications of system types that are integrated a supply chain with Table 2 explains these classifications.