Extranets: a tool for cost control in a value chain framework

The purpose of this research is to show through a case study how the extranet has been used by one specific company to significantly reduce operating costs. The activities of the company are analyzed within the framework of the value chain concept developed by Porter. This, it is felt, will provide a greater insight into how the extranet can be used to improve profit margins. Prior research in this area has either been of a conceptual nature (explaining theoretically how the extranet should be employed) or of a survey nature (examining, by means of a survey instrument, the benefits accruing to companies that have adopted the extranet). This study is different in that it examines in detail, by means of a case study, how the extranet influences a retail company’s chain of activities and reduces the attendant costs thereon.