According to Yi-Ming and Chin-Fu (2010), the commonly shared information between the various trading partners comprise of the order status, forecasts of sales, shipment tracking, levels of inventory, schedules of production, specifications of commodities and their prices, capacity planning, as well as sales promotions. Survey into the supply chain consider sharing or selling of customer information as an imperative mechanisms of solving the diverse uncertainties associated with the supply chain because setting up information-sharing mechanisms could result into the intensified interaction among the participants in supply chain. This could in turn foster an improved coordination among the participants in the supply chain (Chan & Chan, 2009; Yi-Ming & Chin-Fu, 2010).
In theory, sold customer information could be employed in development of an intuitive depiction of the organizational clientele that can be employed in customizing the organizational commodities and services offerings (Null, 2013). According to Yi-Ming and Chin-Fu (2009), several past surveys investigating the gains associated with selling of client information chiefly focused upon the way in which information sharing fosters business and supply chain performance via facilitating effective communication between the business partners. Precisely, organizations employ such shared information to help in making decisions in diverse hierarchical levels, thereby fostering the supply chain management and successfulness.
The American Bar Association (2010) claims that it is imperative for organizations to maintain the confidentiality of their customers' information at all costs since breach of the same are exceedingly upsetting experiences. Furthermore, divulging customer information can abate the trust between a client and an organization. Consequently, it is advisable for an organization to be in a position to explain any breach of their customer's confidentiality in case a breach of the same occurred.
