Corporate management today depends on the effective use of resources, elimination of redundancy, and aggressive automation of manufacturing processes in order to meet business goals.
It is also clear that web-based electronic commerce (e-commerce) has become a key force in today's business operations. Indeed, one of the major challenges growing out of the popularity of e-commerce is competition in a just-in-time inventory environment that strives to react to customers’ on-line demands and high expectations. This challenge has forced business executives to recognize that they must move in a timely manner to implement an effective e-business strategy that enhances customer satisfaction while improving enterprise efficiency and effectiveness. One key is effective utilization of timely information. But information is, by itself, rather meaningless unless it can be collected, sorted/categorized, organized, and then made available as knowledge.