To paraphrase Mark Twain: The death of e-business has been grossly exaggerated.

At least that's the impression you got after visiting enVISION2002, the supply chain planning and management user conference sponsored by Manugistics (www.manugistics.com) in May.

"For a while, the market was fueled by e-exuberance," said Greg Owens, chairman and CEO of Manugistics, a provider of software and services that help users plan and manage their supply chains. "Cyberspace was everything and bricks and mortar were goners. Vision ruled. Execution took a back seat."

While execution and bricks and mortar are now back in fashion, e-commerce initiatives like collaboration, visibility and even Internet-based exchanges are still percolating in the marketplace. At enVISION, speakers from large and small companies alike described how they were using those technologies to support pilot programs that would take them to a new level of supply chain management.

Ford Motor Company, for instance, is using innovative tools like pricing and revenue optimization software to determine the best incentives to offer their customers and maximize profits. That in turn drives manufacturing, distribution and transportation decisions.

Other companies said they were relying on Internet-based solutions to enhance their supply chains. Sears is working with GNX, a retail industry electronic marketplace, to collaborate on sales forecasts and to share real-time visibility into orders, inventory and deliveries with Michelin, its tire supplier. Meanwhile, Harley Davidson has rolled out its own proprietary e-commerce collaboration hub. Harley will begin by electronically sharing forecasts and information with its largest suppliers, then will gradually extend the process across the supply chain.