The implementation of supplier portals is one of the tactics adopted by car manufacturers (OEM) to integrate with their suppliers. The portals have a significant impact on the supplier community which is largely formed of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper applies the social shaping of technology (SST) perspective to analyse the implementation of standardised portal technology in the automotive industry. The paper explores the interactions between the “technical” and the “social” aspects of technology from the SMEs perspective.