The value of information in a business network

We consider the value of shared information within a business network by focusing on how the final supplier to the customer determines its promised delivery dates, given a requested delivery date from the customer and knowledge of the status of the production process. We model how management determines promised delivery dates and compare the on-time performance of the integrated business network with that of the isolated final producer. Two factors are most important in determining the value of sharing operational information across a business network: the variability in production times and the timing of customer orders relative to the production cycle.