IT APPLICATIONS IN BUSINESS, COMMERCE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Information technology is widely used in business, commerce and other related areas. Its
main application areas are:
Stock control
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) facilitates exchange of orders between different
businesses and allows Just In Time stock ordering. Also with computerized stock control,
businesses should be able to check stock levels almost on a real-time basis.
CAD/CAM-Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacture
CAD and CAM are two systems that tend to work together. CAD helps design products on
computers, rather than having to create endless drawings. The system can create realistic 3D
images of the finished product
EMERGING TRENDS IN IT
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the structured transmission of data between organizations
by electronic means. It is used to transfer electronic documents or business data from one
computer system to another computer system, i.e. from one trading partner to another trading
partner without human intervention.[1] It is more than mere e-mail; for instance, organizations
might replace bills of lading and even cheques with appropriate EDI messages.
In 1996, the National Institute of Standards and Technology defined electronic data
interchange as "the computer-to-computer interchange of strictly formatted messages that
represent documents other than monetary instruments. EDI implies a sequence of messages
between two parties, either of whom may serve as originator or recipient. The formatted data
representing the documents may be transmitted from originator to recipient via telecommunications
or physically transported on electronic storage media." It distinguishes mere electronic
communication or data exchange, specifying that "in EDI, the usual processing of received
messages is by computer only. Human intervention in the processing of a received message is
typically intended only for error conditions, for quality review, and for special situations. For
example, the transmission of binary or textual data is not EDI as defined here unless the data are
treated as one or more data elements of an EDI message and are not normally intended for human
interpretation as part of online data processing."
Benefits of using EDI
 The system eliminates the need to use paper. This saves money and helps preserve the environment.
This also reduces the odds of errors appearing in the documents.
 Information sharing becomes quicker and more effectual.
 The end result is increased productivity.
 Response times get quicker and management of information is simplified