The reasons for my lack of intuition are:
1. NASA has been integrating contractors for decades, but the primitiveness of the coordination is apalling. Even the distribution of an up-to-date catalogue of standard parts, which is conceptually simple, has been problematic. This points to 20 years.
2. On the other hand, cutting edge companies would have us believe that they are tightly linked with the suppliers, subcontractors, etc. This points to 5 years. But when I look closely, all is not as integrated as one would believe. They may have EDI which is fine for JIT/factory floor ordering, but at the design level, the nature of the coordination may be alot more loose.
The bottom line is that for every example, there is a counter example. There are some who are ready for federation today, and others for whom 20 years may be too soon. The trick is to rout out the companies who have a time frame you both are comfortable with!
Mark S. Fox Professor of Industrial Eng., Computer Sc. and Management Sc. NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Enterprise Integration Department of Industrial Engineering University of Toronto 4 Taddle Creek Road Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A4
office: 416-978-6823 fax: 416-971-1373 email: msf@ie.utoronto.ca