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摘要

Ebusiness is forecast to change every element of the way a company operates. Most companies are still focused on the 'low hanging fruit' of e-procure-ment, which covers buying, selling and trading online. But organisations such as IBM are promising total integration of information throughout the lifecycle of a product from design, through manufacture and distribution, to end customers and future web-linked service providers. This adventurous idea comes under the label of product lifecycle management. It is still early days, but IBM and car manufacturing giant Daimler-Chrysler are taking the first steps towards adopting the system themselves.