y they do business and how they can reengineer their business processes. As businesses can interact more efficiently, competent businesses became digital and networked, facing a whole range of fresh opportunities and challenges.

The latest stage of distribution system growth occurred in the mid-1990s parallels the rapid growth of the Internet and its widespread penetration into the household by the end of the decade” Piredeaux, 2001

Doganis (2006) states that the fast development of ITs during the 1990s provided Furniture designers with several new tools to woo customers and improve customer service, while at the same time facilitating a reduction in costs. In the area of marketing and distribution, two in particular have played and will continue to play an increasingly important role. These are selling via the internet and electronic consulting with designers. Together they represent two key elements of the application of electronic commerce to furniture designing business. They are in the process of dramatically transforming the way that furniture designing services and products are marketed and distributed. The change is well under way but the full implication of e-commerce has still to be fully appreciated by many designers or their customers. In particular they need to understand that the new electronic marketplace will have different rules.

On another hand Porter (1985) illustrates that ultimately technology can totally transform the way an entire business is done. ITs contribute towards efficiency, productivity and competitiveness improvements of both inter-organisational and intra organisational systems. The relationship between ITs and competitive advantage and performance is still unclear. Although there is an indirect and complex casual relationship between ITs and profitability, it is difficult to be quantified and generalised. There is evidence, however, that well-managed ITs can generate tremendous value for organizations.

Chapter 3