Marketing has always been an exciting profession. There is the challenge of coming up with new and creative ways to catch the attention of the public, hold that attention long enough to build up enthusiasm for a product line, and then motivate consumers to take that final step and purchase the good or service.

 There is a lot of time and effort that goes into developing a solid marketing plan, and then even more resources required to actually get the plan rolling and producing results.

Manufacturers invest millions of dollars to create demand for their products and even more to fulfill it. Yet somehow it’s never fast enough for today’s Internet-savvy consumer, who expects every action to spark an immediate business response. That’s a tall order, however, when so many barriers exist to impede the supply chain.  Internet Marketing helps to pave the way and to get new customers in the door, but the back-end processes need to be streamlined as well.

Regardless of whether a business operates in the real world or online, the power to connect applications and processes with those of their supply chain partners is a necessity. While many traditional companies have been through the trenches when it comes to establishing their supply chains, there are far more online merchants struggling to understand how business is done in the real world.  As their businesses continue to grow at an incredible pace, online companies should realize that Business Interoperability is more than just a matter of customer service or operational efficiency.  It is a matter of survival.