However, the inflexibility and limited function of most systems makes establishing inter-enterprise linkages extremely costly, using today 's approaches. The result is that very few inter-enterprise execution processes have been automated. Further more, the unprecedented rate and degree of change is forcing companies to become more agile, responsive and efficient, or be replaced by ones that are able to plan and execute in this new environment. For example, the market trend to mass customization has created a ballooning of product options that a company must offer in order to meet the wants and needs of its customers. What is more, the life cycle for products has shortened, increasing the importance of decisions around new product launches and the discontinuance of some products.
Globalization also increases the difficulty of making decisions.
Processing material and information in modern, global enterprises is very different from the traditional, vertically integrated businesses. Global companies of all sizes must transcend geographical, functional and enterprise boundaries to include suppliers and customers. For instance, a business must be able to optimize across geographies, plants, shipping costs, labor, tariffs and more to determine which plant should fulfill a customer order. E-Oper8 Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.