Integration is an important and practical matter in today's globalized commerce. This has led companies and organizations to place increasing emphasis on creating a seamless workflow environment from one business function to another. The academic research community recognizes the importance of providing problem-solving direction to the different, and sometimes conflicting, functional perspectives of marketing, engineering, logistics, and manufacturing. The research streams that characterize these issues are in the domain of business interfaces. These include the benefits of coordination,...

The pharmaceutical industry is one of today's most dynamic and complex industries, involving commercialization of cutting-edge scientific research, a huge web of stakeholders (from investors to doctors), multi-stage supply chains, fierce competition in the race to market, and a challenging regulatory environment. The stakes are high, with each new product raising the prospect of spectacular success-or failure. Worldwide revenues are approaching $1 trillion; in the U.S. alone, marketing for pharmaceutical products is, itself, a multi-billion dollar industry. In this volume, the editors...