E-Commerce Platforms and Supply Chain Management – Functionalities Study

Abstract

The rise of e-commerce worldwide represents an indisputable and sustainable process of transformation of previously known market relationships. It has led to the development and continuous improvement of a number of processes related to the efficient management of material flows in the supply chain. E-commerce platforms can in general be considered as specialised software solutions that, in addition to presenting products in digital space, can play a significant role in organising logistics, marketing and financial processes. This complex logistics management problem can be studied through several indicators related to integration of the inner supply chain and to the management of relationships with product suppliers, buyers and trade partners, and logistics services providers. The article outlines the results of a study of the logistics functionalities of some leading e-commerce platforms and reveals some trends in their evolution and their readiness for supporting some of the supply chain management processes.