The present disclosure provides for affording an information portal in a
contract manufacturing framework. First, a database including a plurality
of service provider data structures is provided, wherein each service
provider data structure includes a description of a particular service
provider, and wherein the database further includes a plurality of links
to information. Then, a particular service provider data structure is
identified based on request data from a user. A particular link is
identified based on the request data. The user is then sent the
identified service provider data structure and the identified link.
Finally, the user is allowed to obtain additional information utilizing
the identified link.