rather than take the focus away from the plant floor, supply chain management, via the Internet, actually increases the criticality of optimized production processes. Streamlined, low-inventory production is less tolerant of disruptions of any kind, and for supply chain management to be successful there must exist the kind of "transparency" that allows order takers and managers insight into plant-floor conditions. Primary elements of the plant operations software market include supervisory control, manufacturing execution, and process optimization software systems