e-Business may not be the only form of commerce in the marketplace today, but it certainly is creating most of the buzz.

That's evident in every form of business media—including this issue of Supply Chain Management Review. In each of our feature articles, e-business—as exemplified and enabled by the Internet—is either the main theme or a major contributor to the theme.

Consider the opening article by Sunil Chopra and Jan Van Mieghem of the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. As the authors point out in their comprehensive portrait of the e-business landscape, companies now can pursue any number of e-enabled strategies. The trick is to pick the one that most effectively leverages existing capabilities, foremost among which is the supply chain.

Echoes of that same theme can be heard in Sumantra Sengupta's discussion of a new hybrid called "click and/or walk"—those established store-based retailers that are looking to build their e-business. These companies know that they have to develop and implement an online selling strategy quickly, says the Ernst & Young consultant. The question is how to do so in a way that complements the mainline physical business, not destroys it. The author presents three strategic options for consideration.

And just when we think that we're getting a handle on the e-business options that are available today, we discover that the "next-generation" solutions already are upon us. Ravi Kalakota, an author and e-business entrepreneur, explains that the new solutions go well beyond the digital marketplace to deliver more than just the sale. They actually manage the entire transaction—from search and selection to settlement and accounting.

Though e-business per se does not play the lead role in other feature articles in this issue, it is an important behind-the-scenes player. The piece on the new role of sales professionals by educators Michael S. Garver and John T. Mentzer is a perfect example. With increased supply chain collaboration, they write, salespeople now need to take a much broader perspective, in effect becoming customer relationship managers. And how is this collaboration being enabled?

By e-business solutions like the Internet.

The Internet also is affecting the metrics used to measure supply chain performance, as the consultants from PRTM's Performance Measurement Group underscore in their article on "What It Means to Be Best in Class." Suddenly among the industry leaders it's no longer enough to be best in class. They are striving for a Web-enabled performance level called "eClass."

The power of "e" now is available to virtually any company anywhere. But as with any kind of power, it must be used wisely and well. The insights presented here will help you do that.

617-558-4468, fquinn@cahners.com