Web services are a core technology provided by the .NET Framework. By using web services, companies can more easily integrate internal applications, but they can also access services exposed by other businesses. By combining web services exposed on the Internet with internally built services, companies can create a wide variety of value-added applications. For example, a company could unify banking, electronic bill payment, stock trading, and insurance services into a single, seamless financial management portal. Another possibility is the integration of inventory control, fulfillment mechanisms and purchase-order tracking into a comprehensive supply chain management system.