Changing competitive environments and technological innovation have been increasingly driving organizations to look to deriving competitive advantage through the management of their total supply chain. Ten case studies have been conducted in organizations using the European Article Numbering (EAN) system for the application of business‐to‐business e‐commerce. The evidence from these indicates that those organizations that implement this system for electronic commerce with trading partners from a “strategic” stance can reap substantial benefits. It is also apparent that adoption of this system has at times been slow, and essentially driven by trading partners. There are, however, barriers to implementation and difficult organizational issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure these potential benefits are realised. It is also apparent that these barriers have been perceived to be strong in the past. The point of convergence for all case companies is in their preparedness to adopt and apply new technologies such as the Internet, and their commonly held view that these technologies will become increasingly important enablers of business‐to‐business e‐commerce in the near future.
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