Collaboration: More Hype Than Reality
Intranets have been so hyped as a platform for enterprise collaboration that IT and business managers may just assume they're being used to full potential--a big mistake. Peel back the layers, and you'll find few examples of intranets fueling enterprise-scale collaboration. Despite the proliferation of intranets, many organizations have yet to transform how they share knowledge companywide.

R & D: Net Helps Ford, Bechtel To Innovate
Any debate over whether the Web is a good place to get work done is being put to rest by a select class of engineering departments. Two forward-thinking companies--automaker Ford Motor Co. and engineering/construction giant Bechtel Corp.--are leveraging Internet technology to streamline product development, manage teams of workers in geographically dispersed locations and reduce time to complete projects.

E-Procurement: Holy Grail: A Single Purchasing Interface
Buying across electronic networks isn't new. Hundreds of companies have used them for decades, automating the process of ordering production goods by trading EDI messages with suppliers. But now the Web is starting to impact nonproduction purchases, or so-called MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) goods.

Supply Chain: Think A Chain Of Efficiencies
Want a peek at the topic that will dominate the discussion in Internet circles for the next year, just as portals and e-retailing set the pace a year ago and business-to-business commerce dominates the landscape today? Think supply chain.

Sales: The Web: Hardly Death Of A Salesman
Many pioneering companies are using Internet technologies to change the way they sell products. However, they're grappling with how to get reluctant sales agents on board without losing their loyalty, which could have dire consequences on revenue.

Customer Service: Impersonal Touch Has Its Merits
Randy Hardin is an e-business's dream customer. To solve problems, the IT support and operations manager for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has taken advantage of Dell Computer's online support capabilities so extensively that he and his employees have managed to become certified as Dell technicians.

Sidebar: Users Forced To Build Apps
Off-the-shelf online customer service tools are improving, but several leading e-businesses still must build rather than buy to provide the service levels customers demand.

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