IT systems and applications are vital to businesses and enterprises. The last couple of decades have been a great source of growth for information and communication technology and has strongly influenced organizational processes and logistics as well. The ecosystem of IT services is an interconnected set of hardware and software resources, and is conceptually similar to a manufacturing or retail supply chain.
In the case of supply chains, they generally have two functions: a physical function—the production of a particular product and transportation of each and every component to the desired place at the right time; and a market mediation function—to ensure that the product meets market needs in an appropriate manner. Logistics involves a plethora of suppliers, manufacturers, carriers, third logistics partners, fourth logistics partners, and financial institutions which are essential to transporting a product from place of origin into customer’s hands.