Samenvatting

The significance of IT platforms are that they facilitate information, communication and new
technologies and allow companies to improve efficiency and optimise their supply chain processes. By
definition this implies that an IT platform is a cloud-based software which is not installed on a company’s
server but is accessible via an Internet browser by using electronic devices.
In this article a literature review and a field research (e.g. a case study) are carried out to investigate
the role of a ‘real’ IT-platform connecting companies in the supply chain, and to define Supply Chain
Finance metrics in terms of the improvement of liquidity and efficiency. In alignment with the outcome
of the literature review a case is studied and analysed for the Heering-Holland company as an OEM
manufacturer in the supply chain of conditioned poultry transport solutions using the IT platform of
TradeCloud.