Federated ICT for global supply chains: IT service management in cross-border trade

Cross-border trade inherently involves coordination of a highly complex community of actors belonging to groups with different priorities. This management complexity is further increased with the addition of ICT, which brings in obvious benefits but also hidden risks and challenges,. Federated 'CT management is a new discipline that has emerged to tackle such complexity, and therefore it may be wondered whether its implementation in cross-border trade instances may mitigate the risks and overcome the challenges. By means of case studies and secondary data sources we suggest that techniques and approaches from federated ICT management - such as community modelling, maturity assessment and incremental improvement - may help the cross-border trade community manage their 'CT systems better. Through adapting intervention strategies and providing conceptual models and best practice guidance, we can support more reliable and efficient supply chain operations and more efficient cross-border trade.