1. Enterprises can gain competitive advantages in many ways, such as providing products and services at lower prices.
Enterprises realize value-added through a series of value activities (value chain), which consists of a series of value activities, including internal logistics system, production system, external logistics system, market, sales and service. Every value activity includes basic elements such as resource input, human resources and technology. Moreover, every value activity uses and produces information resources. For example, system personnel may use commercial database systems purchased from software manufacturers, computer equipment rented from hardware suppliers and self-developed information processing programs to provide decision support information for senior leaders of enterprises. In this series of activities, information infrastructure (such as database system and computer equipment), human factors (such as system developers and leaders who use the system) and information itself are involved.
2. With the popularity of the Internet and e-commerce, managers, while establishing and improving the internal value chain of enterprises, are more committed to connecting the internal value chain with the value chains of other enterprises in order to obtain further added value. Manufacturers can connect the internal value chain with the supplier value chain through the procurement management system, so as to obtain the necessary input resources when necessary, and achieve the purpose of reducing the procurement and material inventory costs. At the same time, the manufacturer can also connect with the value chain of the seller through the sales system to achieve the purpose of reducing the sales cost and product inventory cost. Just like the internal value chain of an enterprise, every link of the value system also uses and produces information resources.
3. Because every value activity contains information elements, whether in the enterprise value chain or in the value system connecting the enterprise value chain. In the era of highly information, competitive advantage means using information to gain greater market share and benefits. To win in the competition, we need not only superior material resources, but also superior conceptual resources-information resources. Managers of enterprises should make comprehensive use of material resources and conceptual resources to achieve the strategic goals of enterprises.
I'm afraid your second request can't be met. The information management system of any enterprise is strictly confidential, and not many people know it.