Upstream supply chain management in e-government: The case of Slovenia

The paper highlights the importance of the holistic treatment of e-government. The main challenges and benefits of renovating both upstream and downstream e-government supply chains are reviewed. A new definition of e-government that includes the whole supply chain of the public administration is proposed. Several limitations of current approaches and rankings, that often neglect upstream SC and their detrimental consequences, are highlighted. The case study of the somewhat unsuccessful informatization of Slovenian public procurement illustrates the main problems posed by ignorance of supply chain management principles. It shows that the main challenges are not on the technological side but are instead connected with business process renovation, project management, unclear goals and responsibilities and difficult coordination among various ministerial and governmental bodies. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.