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Introducing some Supply Chain Management problems
Abstract
Problems related to supply chain management (SMC) were discussed and a unifying SMC model was presented. SMC involves distributed design of products and processes and decentralized coordination production of goods through contracting and outsourcing. It also coordinates multi-locations inventories and third-party logistics.
... The studies related to supply chain have raised the need for expanding the theory, bringing about the concept of supply chain management (Scramim & Batalha, 2004). This, in turn, emphasizes the need for integrating operations between producers, distributors, sellers and buyers, through activities such as management of raw materials and products, information, and capital aiming to meet the requirements imposed by the market (Borschiver, 1997;Castro, Lima, & Cristo, 2002;Teller, Kotzab, & Grant, 2011;Villa, 2001). Supply chain management also emphasizes the importance of establishing strategic relationships between manufacturing companies and their suppliers (Assumpção, 2003). ...
... Common goals and market-oriented programs (Chen & Paulraj, 2004;Villa, 2001) Emergency management system (Zhou et al., 2011) ...
... Integration, linkages and sustainability aspects in decision-making process (Nations, 1992) Ability to respond market challenges; supply chain agility (Aziz & Zailani, 2011;IFQC, 2003aIFQC, , 2003bYoung, 2009) Multi-agent coordination problem; collaborative paradigm (Chen & Paulraj, 2004;Villa, 2001) Cooperation and collaboration efficiency along the supply chain (Chen & Paulraj, 2004;Gold & Seuring, 2011;Ramaa et al., 2009;Villa, 2001) Motivating teams by implementing performance goal (Villa, 2001) Capabilities to promote technological innovation; ensuring competence ...
It has been widely discussed in Brazil that the production of biodiesel should look for ways for increasing competitiveness considering the balance among economic growth, environmental quality and social well-being through the rational use of resources. The main purpose of this paper is to identify structural dimensions influencing sustainability and competitiveness of the Brazilian biodiesel production chain and, thereby, contribute to the current debate as well as to the process of formulating policy and strategies regarding this important supply chain. As starting point, a number of publications were reviewed allowing the identification of main issues and its combination into relevant factors. Eventually, the factors were put together, resulting in a set of structural dimensions: biodiesel supply chain environment, institutional framework, market conditions, monitoring systems and technological innovation. Then, the structural dimensions were summarized in a conceptual model showing the relationship between them. The structural dimensions may be seen as critical points in which stakeholders would pay attention to ensure successful performance and sustainable competitiveness of the biodiesel production chain. The objective of the entire system is to deliver biodiesel as a clean energy with focus on social inclusion, mitigation of environmental impacts and viability. © Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Facultad de Economía y Negocios.
... Close relationship and sharing of information is a must between buying firms and their main suppliers. Industrially speaking, SCM involves a variety of managerial and technical matters: the product and process design, efficiently coordinated production of goods, and also contracting suppliers and finding outsourcing, logistics, organization of inventories in various locations, etc. [12]. It is certain that the companies do not depend only on their own performance because the performances of all the units in supply chains affect the company's success. ...
... According to the alternative ratings by the decision makers, the aggregate fuzzy decision matrix is constructed, where the aggregate fuzzy weights w ij of each criterion are obtained according to equations (10) to (12). Using these results, a normalized fuzzy decision matrix is formed by using equation (14), where we should have in mind what the benefit and cost criteria are. ...
In recent years, environmental awareness has increased considerably, and in order to decrease endangerments such as air and water pollution, and also global warming, green procurement should be employed. Therefore, in the assessment of suppliers, their environmental performance should be taken into consideration along with other criteria for supplier selection. Raising awareness of sustainability in production and conservation and protection of the environment is very important both for the whole environment and for the company itself by increasing its competitive advantage. And, one of the steps to achieve this is for the companies to try to select green suppliers. So, the purpose of this study is to raise awareness and tackle the need for green supplier selection and, using multiple-criteria decision-making models, to elaborate a case study regarding this. A survey was conducted in a manufacturing firm. The data were analysed, and fuzzy MCDM (multicriteria decision-making) methods and artificial neural networks were implemented. Fuzzy methods are the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP), fuzzy TOPSIS, and fuzzy ELECTRE. ANN supports the result of fuzzy MCDM models from the profit side. ANN can make the best estimate of the current year based on historical data. Fuzzy MCDM methods will also find good solutions using the available data but will produce different solutions as there are different decision-making methods. It is aimed to produce a synergy from the solutions obtained here and to produce a better solution. Instead of a single method, it would be more accurate to produce a better solution than the solution provided by all of them. The dominant result has been obtained using the committee fuzzy MCDM and ANN to select the best green supplier.
... Hence, the purchasing department must consider the full-part cost instead of a unit-price-oriented cost. Monczka and Trecha [4] provided a cost-based supplier performance evaluation system to evaluate key supplier performance. Service quality from the supplier is also very important to the manufacturer. ...
... [3] Determination of the priority weights of the attributes using pair-wise comparison matrix and its consistency ratio. [4] Determination of priority weights of alternatives with respect to attributes (various alternatives bids with respect to the individual criteria for selection) and consistency ratio for each pair-wise comparison matrix. www.ijltemas.in ...
The purchasing function directly affects the competitive ability of an organization in the competitive business environment. Purchasing managers need to periodically evaluate supplier performance in order to retain those suppliers who meet their requirements. The importance of incorporating multiple attributes such as quality, on-time delivery, price and service, into vendor evaluation are well established in the literature. Supply chain management (SCM) has emerged as an increasingly important approach to improving the performance of manufacturing systems. SCM is an integrated approach to increase the effectiveness of the logistics chain by improving cooperation between the partners in the supply chain. The paper proposed a structured model for evaluating vendor selection using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The supplier selection problem consists of analyzing and measuring the performance of a set of suppliers in order to rank and select them for improving the competitiveness of the whole supply chain system. As many conflicting factors should be taken into account in the analysis, the problem can be tackled using multi-criteria models and methods. A live case study of an automotive industry for supplier evaluation and selection is also presented to demonstrate the functional application of the model. Keywords: Analytical hierarchy process (AHP), pair-wise comparison, supply chain management, vendor selection.
... It is defined as the life cycle processes comprising physical, information, financial and knowledge flows whose purpose is to satisfy end-user requirements with products and services from multiples liked supplies (Ayers, 2001). Managing the Supply Chain leads to various contributions in terms of its design, scheduling, planning, performance evaluation, and operation of its processes for the satisfaction of the final customers (Villa, 2001). ...
Industrial parks, commonly defined as physical spaces developed for the use of several firms simultaneously and managed by a designated manager, currently face challenge pertaining to their development and operation. Sustainable development, regarded as the conjunction of its three pillars, respectively environmental, economic and social, appears to be the answer to those challenges. This thesis is concerned with the development of a model supporting industrial park managers with their commitment to sustainable development. The presented approach is systemic and global, it seeks continuous improvement on long time horizons. The proposed model consist of a systemic modelling of the sustainable industrial park called mixed-use ecopark, a decision marking method for the establishment of an action plan and a performance expression sub-model. This model was validated with industrial parks from France and Quebec that offers a diverse panel of size, degree of maturity and commitment to sustainable development. This diversity enriched the reflection and strengthened the genericity of the developed model.
... The supply chain can be realized through the transformation of managers choosing the right step to focus on building a distribution network so that the product can reach the consumers [16]. Supply chain management strategy is defined as the accumulation of approaches that include suppliers, business actors, and equipment coordinating with third parties, outsourcing, exchange of information technology effectively efficiently but able to meet expectations of the degree of service [17]; [18]; [19]. ...
This study explains conceptually about strategies that use the Integrative Supply Chain System (RPI) approach of corporate management in the midst of hyper-fierce competition in this global era. RPI is an approach taken by the company through integrated partnerships between suppliers, customers and other supply chain members. The application of the RPI concept through empirical research on woven Small and Medium Industries (IKM) in Tasikmalaya Regency, West Java. IKM is a form of business activity that is not only limited to the trading business, but there are activities of the production process with the application of technology, simple organizational management, and collaboration with other parties. This study aims to analyze the influence of three aspects of the advantages of corporate social capital which include aspects of relational capital, structural capital, and cognitive capital on integrative supply chains. The research method is explanatory research which is to explain the causal relationship and hypothesis testing. Data were collected from managers of woven SMIs as many as 200 respondents. The results showed that corporate social capital influences the integrative supply chain.
... Decision-making processes have been shown to impact the type of interdependence between different parties (Hrebiniak, 1974, McCann and Ferry, 1979, Stock and Tatikonda, 2000. A decision-making process is referred to as "myopic" if each party acts independently, without considering other parties (Villa, 2001) or "dyadic" if parties comply with a set of agreed objectives (Jap, 2001), and the attainment of these objectives benefits multiple parties. Moreover, depending on the importance of each party, decision-making processes could be either asymmetric, in which certain parties are more dominant, or paritybased, where all parties are regarded as equal (Lejeune and Yakova, 2005). ...
Omni-channel retailing (OCR) strategies have recently emerged as a powerful engine of growth in the retail industry. The goal is to provide consumers with a seamless and consistent shopping experience across different channels and devices. Success in implementing OCR strategies depends on sophisticated compromises between fulfilment responsiveness and product variety across different product types, consumer segments, and shopping occasions. Failures in OCR strategies to optimize the trade-offs between responsiveness and variety are rooted in a poor understanding of how OCR strategies should build on last-mile supply network (LMSN) distribution configurations. Last-mile Supply Network Distribution in Omni-Channel Retailing: A Configuration-Based Typology addresses this issue by developing a typology of LMSN distribution configurations in OCR. Typologies are useful for four reasons: (1) they provide a mechanism for incorporating holistic principles of inquiry into organizational research; (2) they explicitly define patterns of constructs that determine dependent variables while enabling researchers to move beyond traditional linear theories; (3) they provide a means to incorporate equifinality; and (4) they establish connections between the findings of various studies. The existing literature covers a number of last-mile typological systems in the supply chain. However, these typologies do not provide a satisfactory characterization of various forms of LMSN distribution configurations in OCR and their unique structure, product/order and information flow, service architecture, and relational and governance aspects. To address these deficiencies in the literature, this typology updates the linearly “chain-centric” extended supply chain models developed previously and provides a framework that integrates multiple theoretical domains and terminologies that have been used disjointedly to describe the various forms of LMSN distribution configurations in OCR. After an introduction, Section 2 presents a review of the literature. Section 3 describes the methodology used to identify the different configuration dimensions and provides definitions of the terminologies. Section 4 describes the LMSN configuration-based typology while Section 5 presents LMSN evolution patterns through the discussion of example cases. Section 6 highlights key insights derived from the typology, elaborates on academic implications, and suggests some research extensions. Section 7 discusses the managerial implications and concludes.
... The circumstances leading to decision-making autonomy for all network nodes have been discussed by Villa (2001). The existence of decision-making autonomy is considered as a prerequisite for performing, serving, and negotiating operations in the supply chain. ...
... Market globalization and increased competition urge producers, distributors and vendors to integrate their operations, thus developing widespread networks for managing materials, products, information and capital (Villa, 2001). To aid businesses in these efforts, scholars (e.g. ...
Background and Purpose: Regional sustainable economic growth on logistics bases requires the coordinated development of infrastructure, information and communications technology, and proactive education of logistics specialists. The goal is reachable with regional logistics platforms (RLPs). This current research develops a theoretical model for RLPs, consisting of (1) basic constituents, (2) an implementation area, and (3) stakeholders’ and operational benefits.
Design/Methodology/Approach: We employed a balanced qualitative and quantitative approach using multiple case study and survey methods.
Results: Systematic case study research has identified 12 “most frequently” highlighted RLP constituents and 3 areas of implementation, which were further proven by a survey. RLP’s beginnings may be spontaneous until a critical mass of interested stakeholders emerges with a clear vision and start-up energy for a breakthrough. A theoretical model for RLPs is proposed.
Conclusion: The secret of a successfully developing a logistics region lies in its ability to develop a mechanism for the managing and coordinating a particular logistics system’s development and operation, an area that should be further researched. This study’s findings provide valuable insights into the many aspects of RLPs, which can be useful for regional authorities and business owners who are eager to stimulate regional economic growth.
... It is dened as the life cycle processes comprising physical, information, nancial and knowledge ows whose purpose is to satisfy end-user requirements with products and services from multiples liked supplies [2]. Managing the Supply Chain leads to various contributions in terms of its design, scheduling, planning, performance evaluation, and operation of its processes for the satisfaction of the nal customers [26]. ...
From a business perspective, initiatives are undertaken at both inter-company level and intra-company level to implement the concept of sustainable development. At inter-company level, Industrial Ecology uses natural ecosystems as analogies to design sustainable industrial systems such as Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs). Similarly to a Supply Chain (SC), an EIP is a community of independent businesses that cooperate with each other to efficiently share resources (materials, resources and information). However, if the SC cooperation is focused on product manufacturing, the EIP cooperation intends to reap economic gains, improvements in environmental quality and equitable enhancement of human resources that would not have been achievable individually. In the extensive and multidisciplinary body of literature studying EIP, the lack of a framework to evaluate the performance and benefits of an EIP is repeatedly discussed. Having observed similarities between SCs and EIPs, the use of Supply Chain Management tools for the description of synergies among an EIP is motivated. A model inherited from SCOR model is proposed to map this symbiosis and is demonstrated in a case study. Even if EIPs and SCs do not share the same goals, we will conclude with the relevance of using the SCOR model for EIP management.
... Decision-making processes have been shown to impact the type of interdependence between different parties (Hrebiniak, 1974, McCann and Ferry, 1979, Stock and Tatikonda, 2000. A decision-making process is referred to as "myopic" if each party acts independently, without considering other parties (Villa, 2001) or "dyadic" if parties comply with a set of agreed objectives (Jap, 2001), and the attainment of these objectives benefits multiple parties. Moreover, depending on the importance of each party, decision-making processes could be either asymmetric, in which certain parties are more dominant, or paritybased, where all parties are regarded as equal (Lejeune and Yakova, 2005). ...
This monograph develops a configuration-based typology describing last-mile supply network (LMSN) distribution configurations in omnichannel retailing. The goal was to integrate relevant terms that have been used disjointedly, with fragmented bodies of theory describing various forms of LMSN. A review of the academic and practice literature was conducted and complemented with secondary observations identifying the key configuration dimensions. Established guidelines for typology and theory building (e.g., Doty and Glick, 1994) were employed in order to develop the typology.
The proposed typology comprises four ideal types: Simple LMSN, Hyperlocal LMSN, One-Stop LMSN, and Protean LMSN. The four types are described along the dimensions of: (1) network structure, (2) network flow, (3) relationship governance, and (4) service architecture. Referred to hereas the SHOP typology in LMSN, each type is associated with one or more core logistics capabilities elaborated on in a capability profile.
The typology identifies useful LMSN evolutionary patterns and enables scholars to develop models and theories based on the four configurations relating their findings to a specific configuration or across them, rather than expanding efforts on separate and unconnected studies. Notwithstanding, it incorporates elements of the omnichannel context which updates the previous “chain-centric” typology developed by Boyer et al. (2005). It also serves as a stepping-stone toward improved insights on what drives, facilitates, and inhibits “fit” potential of LMSN distribution configuration. The research output enhances managers’ understanding of the various forms of LMSN and assists in the identification of possible routes to establish configuration footprints across different LMSNs to support retailers’ omnichannel retailing strategies.
... Admittedly, an integrated inventory control policy is a matter of concern when dealing with SCM. The following papers [46,50,47,4] are based on an inventory control policy. Goyal [10] presented the first research work on the integrated vendor-buyer problem which was further extended by Banerjee [2] with a joint economic lot size model for the purchaser and vendor. ...
For quality improvement purposes often times, a manufacturing unit has to change certain parts of equipment. Any such changes in the assembly line manufacturing system or production process involves a cost known as the setup cost. Minimizing the setup cost and improving the product quality is of prime importance in today's competitive business arena. This paper develops the effects of setup cost reduction and quality improvement in a two-echelon supply chain model with deterioration. The objective is to minimize the total cost of the entire supply chain model (SCM) by simultaneously optimizing setup cost, process quality, number of deliveries, and lot size. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the model.
... In this context, management must deal with the design, maintenance and operation of SC processes, for the satisfaction of end-user needs [34]. In order to help management, a lot of propositions are made to model the SC [35]. For instance, the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model [36] proposes to distinguish four abstraction levels, going from the more generic one (level 1) to the more particular (level 4). ...
This study deals with the supply chain SC overall performance expression. The approach is based on the main processes of the SCOR model. In the industrial practice, performance expressions are defined w.r.t. each process; and the overall performance is neither expressed for each company, nor for the whole SC. It induces a complexity in the scorecards analysis. In this view, the MACBETH formalization of the overall expression with an aggregation approach is proposed. More precisely, the Choquet integral operator is adopted to model mutual interactions between processes. The expression of a bearing's manufacturer performance illustrates the proposition.
... Kaihara (2001) has recognized supply chain management (SCM) as one of the best means to improve the performance of organizations. SCM is defined by Villa (2001) as the management of different types of physical, information and financial flows from the stage of raw material through to a final product where material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers are connected. This complements the definition provided by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (see www. cscmp.org). ...
Purpose of this paper: The supply chain management (SCM) literature recognizes that SCM implementation is an important issue in order to achieve effectiveness and efficiency. Little work has been done synthesizing a theoretical approach to implementation measure development and prioritization and undertaking empirical studies to validate the theory. This paper discusses the theory and replicates an extant conceptual framework in another context an empirical test to further validate the framework and measures.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper follows an extant framework and methodology used in Denmark and applies it to organizations in Austria. The study follows Churchill’s two-stage paradigm for scale and construct development, Dillman’s total design method for conducting surveys, Hair, Anderson, Tatham and Black’s techniques for regression analysis and Johnson and Gustafsson’s analysis for developing an SCM-implementation impact-performance index.
Findings: SCM-implementation in the Austrian context was found to be dependent on improving SCM-activities of procurement and returns; while SCM-activities were found to be influenced by exchange-oriented joint SCM-conditions, particularly shared information on forecasts and product development.
Research limitations/implications (if applicable)
The framework is presented, tested and validated in an Austrian context and provides a parsimonious set of constructs and variables for that context. However, the framework still requires testing in other contexts and geographical areas to ensure external validity of those constructs and variables.
Practical implications
The framework, resultant constructs and variables and impact-performance prioritization matrix has strategic importance for organizations to achieve better SCM-implementation and integration.
What is original/value of paper: This paper extends earlier work on this topic by replicating an empirical test of an extant framework to generate better understanding of SCM-implementation in organizations.
... Kaihara (2001) has recognized supply chain management (SCM) as one of the best means to improve the performance of organizations. SCM is defined by Villa (2001) as the management of different types of physical, information and financial flows from the stage of raw material through to a final product where material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers are connected. This complements the definition provided by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (see www. cscmp.org). ...
Supply chain management (SCM) enables the internal and external integration of business processes
with customers and suppliers in order to add customer value. There is a burgeoning need to
implement SCM in organizations stemming from increased competition that is nowadays between
networks of organizations rather than individual actors. Thus, SCM needs to be incorporated into an
organization’s existing competitive strategies. However, there has been little theoretical discussion or
empirical study regarding the prioritization and implementation of SCM strategies within organizations.
This paper discusses a recently-developed decision tool for identifying and prioritizing strategies to
improve SCM implementation and its preliminary use in a replication study of SCM managers in
Austrian organizations.
... One of the recognized American scientists in the field of Supply Chain Management, Lambert (2008) defines Supply Chain Management as the integration of key business processes, covering end users and screening all providers of goods, services and information that add value for customers and other interested parties. According to Villa (2001), SCM is defined as the management of different types physical, information and financial flows from the stage of raw material through the final product where material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers are connected. The execution of SCM within organizations' is understood as a firm's internal and external integration of business process with suppliers and customers in order to create a value and to improve the total performance of the chain. ...
Fashion industry is one of the fast developing and extremely popularized segment of economy. Market fashion industry is also called fashion-retail market with a total value in 2012 of more than 50 billion USD. The relevance of the topic of this article is caused by the growing attention to the fashion sector in the last years, especially to famous brands like New Yorker, Zara or H&M. More new fashion houses have set ambitious targets to speedy promotion of their brands to the market. Thus, the key idea of this paper is to estimate and element the different forms of H&M success through description of current gaps and obstacles in its supply chain. The methodology used is based on revision and critical analysis of the existing literature. This paper examines the impact of agile supply chain integration on the following critical parameters: integration, planning, workflow, and new business models. The general outcomes of the research prove that H&M success is based on the previous research studies by adopting integrated business approaches and benefits of supply chain integration, namely reduced costs, increased flexibility, faster response times, efficient and effective coordination methods. The review is a useful tool to consider supply chain from the perspective of agile supply chain and retailers planning to know more on H&M success in supply chain management.
... The objective of the supply chain management is to maximize the supply chain surplus (Chopra and Meindl, 2009). From an industrial point of view, supply chain management involves a variety of management and technical issues, starting from the distributed design of products and processes, the decentralized but efficiently coordinated production of goods through suppliers contracting and outsourcing, the coordination of third-party logistics and multi-locations inventories (Villa, 2001). Latest evolution of supply chain management practices includes supplier partnership, outsourcing, cycle time compression, continuous process flow, and information technology sharing (Donlon, 1996). ...
The dynamics of faster development in production and service areas set new expectation standards and traditional managerial attributes in supply chain management processes are being revised to improve firm's competitiveness in this changing market environment. Also, companies are now looking to develop new methods in areas such as manufacturing, flexibility, transportation and information technologies in order to have a strategic superiority in their supply chain. Managers are key factors in the organizational performance and the success of the supply chains. So, it is proposed that supply chain strategies have to be considered in the overall strategy and also the contributions of supply chain management can not be realized unless it is supported by the managerial board. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate the role of managerial attributes and its effects on the supply chain performance. The data in this study are collected from the supply chain managers of large manufacturing firms (employee>50) in Kayseri. The results indicate that managerial attributes have impact on supply chain performance.
... In this context, management must deal with the design, maintenance and operation of SC processes, for the satisfaction of end-user needs (Ayers, 2000). In order to help management, a lot of propositions are made to model the SC (Villa, 2001). For instance, the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model (SCC, 2005) proposes to distinguish 4 abstraction levels, going from the more generic one (level 1) to the more particular (level 4). ...
This study deals with the supply chain SC overall performance expression. The approach is based on the main processes of the SCOR model. In the industrial practice, performance expressions are defined w.r.t. each process; and the overall performance is neither expressed for each company, nor for the whole SC. It induces a complexity in the scorecards analysis. In this view, the MACBETH formalization of the overall expression with an aggregation approach is proposed. More precisely, the Choquet integral operator is adopted to model mutual interactions between processes. The expression of a bearing's manufacturer performance illustrates the proposition.
... For instance, Meixell and Gargeya [9] worked on the SC design, Luo et al. [10] and Wu and Olson [11] dealt with supplier and vendor selection maintenance and notably manufacturing while Ayers [8] handled the satisfaction of end-user needs. Several proposals have also been made with regard to the modeling aspects [12][13][14][15][16][17]. In this context, the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model [18] suggests to distinguish four abstraction levels, from the more generic (level 1) to the more particular (level 4) (Fig. 1). ...
The paper deals with the wide issue of overall performance expression of a system made of interacting entities. Formal aspects of overall performance expression are considered as a first step of this reflection in the context of supply chains (SC's). Indeed, a SC being a network of interconnected business entities, it is proposed to consider it as a system of systems. Because system behavior depends on process dynamics, the performance of any company of the SC highly depends on the performance of its processes. However, while process performance is clearly defined in the literature, performance of complex systems or systems of systems is more difficult to assess due to process interactions. The overall performance concept is usually unsatisfactory either for each company or for the whole SC. To express such performance in SC's, recent proposals have focused on the performance of the prime manufacturer. This performance being linked to the ones of the suppliers, the impact of supplier performances on the prime manufacturer performance has to be integrated. It is therefore proposed to respectively use the SCOR model for describing the involved sub-system processes and, from a computational point of view, to use the MAUT (Multi Attribute Utility Theory) MACBETH methodology to consistently compute the expected performances. More specifically, the Choquet integral is used as the aggregation opera-tor to handle interactions between systems and processes. The case of a bearings manufacturer is used to illustrate the pro-posal for a supplier selection problem.
... It has been suggested that the influence of weights of different operational criteria be considered for further analysis of supply chain integration. In addition to this, some other problems in integration of supply chain have been discussed by Villa (2001). ...
There can be little dispute that supply chain management and design is an area of importance in the field of engineering, yet there have been few literature reviews on this topic. Over the past decade, the traditional purchasing and logistics functions have evolved into a broader strategic approach to materials and distribution management in engineering, known as supply chain management. This paper sets out not to review the work carried out for different stages in supply chain per se, but rather to contribute to a critical theory debate through the presentation and use of a framework for the categorisation of literature linked to various stages of supply chain management and design. In addition, this paper attempts to clearly describe supply chain management since the literature is replete with buzzwords that address elements or stages of this new management philosophy. The present study is based on the analysis of a large number of publications on supply chain management and design.
... In the present approach, Fig. 1 outlines the types of centres considered as component parts of the LSA organization: each centre type corresponds to a number of real centres of the same type, operating "in parallel" within the LSA local region. Thus, the real service network appears to be a multi-stage multi-centre flowline-type system (of the same type as a multi-stage multi-agent supply chain, such as described in Villa, 2001;Villa, 2002;and Zhen & Possel-Dolken, 2002), where patients will enter at the input stage centres and will either go out from any centre, or flow to a downstream centre. ...
A Local Sanitary Agency – LSA operating in an Italian region can be described as a multi-stage multi-service-center chain, such that it can be modeled by a Collaborative DEmand and Supply NETwork (CO-DESNET 1). Such network consists of an organization of service centers which oper-ate in the same health care-dedicated line and interact together to facilitate the patients' flows along the chain of sanitary services. In order to assure effectiveness and efficiency to the health care net-work, two main problems have to be approached: 1 st . how should the different phases of health care be organized in the service centers of the network such as to assure to each component center a suf-ficient capacity and cost coverage without congestion? 2 nd . how could a collaborative service plan-ning strategy be defined such as to assure to the health care network, as a whole system, clear per-spectives of sustainable operations and development? This contribution will discuss an admissible solution of the LSA service planning problem, assuming that such system be modeled by a network of service center under demand uncertainty. The model here adopted will describe the network in terms of negotiation among the service centers (i.e., the "agents" of the network), and conditions supporting collaborations among the component agents will be derived. Copyright © 2005 IFAC. 1 CO-DESNET is the acronym of the Coordination Action (CA) project n° IST-2002-506673 / Joint Call IST-NMP-1, supported by the European Commission, Information Society Directorate-General, Communication Networks, Security and software, Applications, under the coordination of Politecnico di Torino, Prof. A. Villa, and with EC Official Dr. F. Frederix. This paper refers to research results developed for preparing the CA proposal at Politecnico di Torino.
... The objectives of supply chain management (SCM) are multidimensional and include cost minimization, increased levels of service, improved communication among partners, and increased flexibility in terms of delivery and response (Lancioni et al. 2000, Li and O'Brien 1999, Villa 2001, Hemmonds 2002, Riddalls et al. 2000. Classically, the management of a supply chain (SC) relied mainly on monitoring sales, demand, and inventory levels data so as to react appropriately when needed (Ganeshan 1999, Ghiassi andSpera 2003). ...
This paper presents a new methodology to predict behavioural changes in manufacturing supply chains due to endogenous and/or exogenous influences in the short and long term horizons. Additionally, the methodology permits the identification of the causes that may induce a negative behaviour when predicted. Initially, a dynamic model of the supply chain is developed using system dynamics simulation. Using this model, a neural network is trained to make online predictions of behavioural changes at a very early decision making stage so that an enterprise would have enough time to respond and counteract any unwanted situations. Eigenvalue analysis is used to investigate any undesired foreseen behaviour, and principles of stability and controllability are used to study several decision configurations that eliminate or mitigate such behaviour. A case study of an actual electronics manufacturing company demonstrates how to apply this methodology and its real benefits for enterprises.
... In supply chain decision making, autonomy is important for the flows. This autonomy defined in terms of proper knowledge of constraints which must be satisfied in order that the global network can survive and a proper set of information concerning operations performing by other nodes in the network (Villa, 2001; 3). ...
Regardless of what it is called, "the new economy" is today's reality. Besides, it is the main interest of managers who presently focus on supply chain management. Similar to supply chain management, "the new economy" depends on the information and communication technologies (ICT) to achieve organizational effectiveness. The knowledge management systems in the new economic structure emphasize how firms can enhance competitive advantage through more effective utilization of their knowledge assets. In this study, a knowledge structured supply chain is utilized to underline the fact that all the members of a chain have a knowledge management system and there are effective information flows among the chain members.
... has recognized supply chain management (SCM) as one of the best means to improve the performance of organizations. SCM is defined by Villa (2001) as the management of different types of physical, information and financial flows from the stage of raw material through to a final product where material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers are connected. This complements the definition provided by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (see www.cscmp.org). ...
The aim of this paper is to identify areas for improving the level of supply chain management (SCM) execution. A conceptual model was developed that proposes internal and joint SCM conditions and the adoption of SCM processes as the main antecedents of SCM execution. Based on a survey of 174 senior managers representing large organizations structural equation modeling was conducted followed by a three-step importance-performance analysis. The results show that internal SCM conditions, specifically information technology and human resources, are the major drivers for improving the total level of SCM execution.
... Croom et al. (2000) found that purchasing, logistics and transportation, organisational behaviour, best practices, strategic aspects, and economic development are the most often studied topics. In addition, researchers (Bowersox et al., 2005; Ghiassi and Spera, 2003; Hammonds, 2002; Lancioni et al., 2000; Parente et al., 2004; Villa, 2001) have addressed the role of the internet and information technology in SCM. Those efforts indicate the interest in improving SC information management and the wish to achieve the ability to create real time interactions with both customers and suppliers. ...
Using outputs of a supply chain system dynamics model, neural networks' pattern recognition capabilities and eigen value analysis are utilised to detect and analyse behavioural changes in the supply chain and predict their impact in the short- and long-term horizons on performances. Neural networks are used to detect changes in the supply chain behaviour at a very early stage of their occurrence so that an enterprise would have enough time to respond and counteract any unwanted situations. Then, the principles of stability and controllability are used to apply and make modifications to the information and material flows to avoid undesirable behaviours.
... In this context, management must deal with all operations of SC processes, such as the design, maintenance and notably manufacturing. Several propositions are initially made to model the SC (Villa 2001). For instance, the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model (SCOR 80 2007) (Fig. 1) proposes to distinguish 4 abstraction levels, going from the more generic (level 1) to the more particular (level 4). ...
This study deals with the supply chain (SC) overall performance expression. The developed idea concerns more particularly
the performance of the manufactured products. Indeed, two companies or more contribute to the manufacturing of products that
are generally assembled by the prime manufacturer company. Moreover, in the industrial practice, performance scorecards are
defined with regard to each process; and the overall performance is neither expressed for each company, nor for the whole
SC. We propose here to identify the SC overall performance to the combination of the performances of the different involved
companies in the SC. Thus, in order to obtain a definition of such performance, we choose to focus first on the performance
of the prime manufacturer. In this sense, the approach is based on the SCOR model for the handling of the main processes around
the considered product manufacturing. The prime manufacturer performance is then defined as the aggregation of its involved
processes’ performances. While the prime manufacturer performance is strongly dependent on the suppliers’ performance, we
suggest the integration of the impacting supplier performance into the prime manufacturer scorecards. From an operational
point of view, the MACBETH methodology is used to coherently express both processes and overall performances. More precisely,
the Choquet aggregation integral operator is applied in order to model mutual interactions between processes. Finally, the
expression of a bearing’s manufacturer performance illustrates the proposition.
KeywordsMulti-criteria performance evaluation–Supply chain management–SCOR model–MACBETH aggregation methodology–Choquet integral operator
... A special interest of the industrial bodies is reserved to networks of firms characterized by "co-operation agreements" signed for a finite time horizon, and stated such that each firm could partially interact with the other network partners (i.e. each firm could also have a proper market share, thus involving in the network only a part of their own core business). The resulting new DESNET can have a finite life and it does not completely reduce the autonomy of any component firm, because each one can still produce items for proper clients, and then operate in a proper market segment (Villa, 2001). More precisely, all the enterprises which agree to be included into a DESNET and then be active inside the same supply chain, must sign an agreement to co-operating together in defining common production plans for specific products. ...
Present evolution of multi-firm supply chains and industrial districts urges to have at disposal procedures and methods for
the organization and management of a COllaborative DEmand & Supply NETwork (CO-DESNET. The crucial point in organizing and managing such networks is “to assure good collaboration among partners”: interactions
among the firms as well as the connecting information pattern have to be designed accordingly. The presentation of a new model
of a CO-DESNET is the scope of the paper: based on this model, conditions verifying how collaborative operations of the firms
included in the network will occur, are derived.
... In this context, management must deal with the design, maintenance and operation of SC processes, for the satisfaction of end-user needs [34]. In order to help management, a lot of propositions are made to model the SC [35]. For instance, the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model [36] proposes to distinguish four abstraction levels, going from the more generic one (level 1) to the more particular (level 4). ...
This study deals with the supply chain (SC) performance formalization. We propose to build performance measurement systems (PMSs) by linking an overall performance expression to elementary ones. The overall performance is associated to a global objective whose break-down provides elementary objectives. Elementary performances are thus aggregated in a corollary way. The problem in the design of such PMS's, by the break-down/aggregation model, concerns both the coherent elementary performance expressions and the definition of the links between them. Some answers are proposed in the literature, such as the weighted mean aggregation operator, to handle hierarchical links, the Choquet integral operator, for taking interactions into account. As global frameworks, the AHP or MACBETH methodologies are suggested. By considering the SCOR model break-down, we propose to extend here the proposed approaches for expressing the overall performance of a SC. An aggregation methodology, based on the Choquet integral operator and MACBETH framework, is thus adopted.
... On one side, supply chain entities may take their decisions in an independent and autonomous way, without taking into account the objectives of the other entities; there is no consideration for (or definition of) a set of supply chain objectives. Such a decision process is referred to as myopic decision process (Villa, 2001), which often harms the welfare of the supply chain. On the other side, supply chain entities may comply with a set of superordinate objectives (Jap, 2001), which attainment favors the survival and/or the profitability of the supply chain. ...
Supply chain management is a field at the confluence of many other disciplines; it has been studied under a number of perspectives, which has played a role for the crossbreeding of the discipline. In this paper, we propose a typology of supply chain configurations that contributes to tie together terms that have been used disjointedly for describing various forms of supply chain. It also enables researchers to develop theories related to the identified typology, rather than continue expanding efforts on separate, unconnected studies. The typology is configurational, consistent, and based on the correspondence (Sheppard and Sherman, 1998) between Fiske's theory of relational forms (1990) and the concept of interdependence, analyzed in the context of supply chain management. Our framework encompasses four main configurations – the communicative, coordinated, collaborative, and co-opetitive – and we refer to these as the 4 C's in supply chain management. We discuss the benefits of the proposed typology from managerial and research perspectives, and suggest some research extensions.
... work systems) in the network. The planning and execution functions need to comprise tools for the combined management of inventories and the adjustment of lot-sizes [86] between the net partners. An important function is the facilitation of capacity and resource management across the network. ...
New types of cooperation between companies in the manufacturing sector are coming into being. Since nowadays the creation of and involvement in supply chains is for most companies standard practice, new forms of cooperation are now emerging: production networks. The paper describes current developments in the field of production networks along with techniques and methods for their operation and management.
... Therefore, integrated inventory management has recently received a great deal of attention (e.g. Viswanathan, 1998;Villa, 2001;Yang and Wee, 2001;Amasaka, 2002;Bylka, 2003). ...
This article presents the single-vendor single-buyer integrated production inventory models. We relax the assumption that lead time demand, X, is deterministic and assume that it is stochastic. Also, we assume that shortage during the lead time is permitted, and lead time can be reduced at an added cost. Two models are considered here. In the first model, the demand of lead time follows a normal distribution, and in the second model, it is distribution-free. For both cases, we develop effective iterative procedures for finding the optimal policy and numerical examples are used to illustrate the benefits of integration.
... Among the propositions made to model the SC (Villa, 2001) the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model (SCOR, 2000) proposes to distinguish 4 abstraction levels, going from the more generic one (level 1) to the more particular (level 4) (figure 1). At level 1, each company of the SC is described through 5 processes: Plan -Source -Make -Deliver -Return. ...
This study deals with performance measurement in a supply chain context. We have proposed in this sense a global framework to consider, understand and improve the buyersupplier relationships. The major idea of this work is the overall performance concept. In this sense, decision-makers have one single synthetic piece of information which is, on the one hand, consistent with the new global industrial approach, and on the other hand, allows the comparison of situations conventionally considered as "incomparable". More precisely, decision-makers cannot only choose the best supplier in a given context and w.r.t the industrial projects under way, but also manage the relationship improvement, by analysing a detailed diagnosis and a quantitative evaluation of the impact of the alternative considered projects. In the Quantitative Performance Measurement Model, the aggregation concept allows the quantification of an overall performance, in spite of the impossibility to directly measure such a performance. Moreover, the Choquet Integral (CI) operator, which takes the dependencies between criteria into account, highlights the complex relations between the elementary and the overall performance expressions, while the Weighted Arithmetic Mean (WAM) operator does not. In this sense, the MACBETH methodology has been applied to the performance quantification of the four main processes (Plan, Source, Make and Deliver) according to the supply chain literature. Indeed, based on human expertise, this methodology gives a structured framework, which links the elementary performance expression to the overall one. This study will have to be completed by industrial validation. Indeed, some work is now in progress concerning the application of these ideas in some manufacturing companies, by considering moreover, the impact of the process Return, not handled here, on the overall performance in a buyer-supplier relationship context. Appendix Notation:
... • Communicative -This type of configuration ( [7], [8], [9], [10]) is related to the market pricing relational form and characterized by shallow dependence. Collaboration only takes place at an inter-functional level within each company in the network. ...
The globalization of supply and demand has resulted in increasingly complex supply chain interaction strategies across different
industries. Since the different interaction strategies are associated with different types of interdependence between partners,
the impact of these strategies on cost information visibility across a supply chain network merits further investigation.
The importance of cost information visibility lies in the fact that a firm’s internal costs can often depend on the business
processes of other members within their network. The paper uses a multi-theoretical perspective to develop an integrative
model of the impact of the different dimensions of interaction strategies on cost information visibility and profitability
in supply chain networks.
KeywordsCoordination-collaboration-interdependence-cost information visibility-profitability
This paper explores a neoteric approach to geometric shipment policy and concerns the impact of controllable lead time, setup cost reduction, lost sales caused by stock-out and freight cost within an integrated vendor–buyer supply chain configuration using service-level constraint. In particular, the transportation cost is a function of shipping weight, distance and transportation modes. In other words, truckload (TL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. A heuristic model is developed to minimize the joint expected total cost (JETC), when the mode of transportation is limited to TL and LTL shipments. Numerical examples including the sensitivity analysis with some managerial insights of system parameters is implemented to endorse the outcome of the supply chain models.
In the current work, we present the design of an allocation model of process plants to different customers considering the use of a fleet of vehicles with certain capabilities for the transport of goods, which is framed within theoretical model of mixed integer linear programming, developed from routing model with cargo allocation model and combined with multimodal transport. Furthermore, this model was applied using a simulation process on a real system, specifically the supply of recycled products Recycling Association ARB Bogotá Colombia, making a projection of their operation according to their medium-term strategic plan.
This model is focused for businesses developing logistics supply or distribution especially within a supply chain using a fleet of vehicles with different capacities and in which a destination can only be served by a single source within the corresponding nodal network.
The paper presents neutral open function blocks to implement programmed data access logic into controllers programs. The paper proposes an approach similar to the successful IEC MotionControl function blocks technology, which has been defined for neutral programming of axis control. In the same way, neutral access blocks could be programmed for data access and recording, and specific brand controllers would implement them and use to build the manufacturing program. A prototype implementation is presented for CAD/CAM/CNC environments to automate manufacturing processes data access and recording in order to support services of production activity supervision, manufacturing data traceability-recording of relevant information of manufacturing processes for future review in case of fault-etc.
Complex Supply Chains cannot be controlled without a coherent decision system and a coherent set of performance indicators. So, first of all, this paper presents a decision system model using GRAI method. This model is presented at the global level (i.e. the whole supply chain level) and at the local level (i.e. the level of each company of the chain). Then, performance indicators are proposed at both levels, using ECOGRAI Method. But in order to collect and aggregate such performance indicators at the global level, it is necessary for the various companies to use compatible decision support system. This leads to an interoperability problem which is highlighted in the last part of this paper, insisting on solutions to solve this problem.
This paper proposes an information model for traceability data management in complex industrial environments such us extended enterprises. The objective of the model is to assure that traceability data will be understandable and available whenever required, no matter the product or the manufacturing complexity. The main feature of the model is the definition of an explicit link between the traceability data and the product structure. This provides data significance and drives the data transfer process through industrial partners along the supply chain.
This paper proposes a traceability information model for spread e-manufacturing environments (e-traceability). The objective is to address common traceability data management problems in spread supply chain networks, assuring traceability data understandability and availability whenever required, no matter the manufacturing process or supply chain complexity. The main feature of the model is the definition of an explicit link between the traceability data and the standardized product data structure. The linkage between traceability data and product data provides data significance and drives the data transfer process through industrial partners along the supply chain in new emerging e-manufacturing environments (STEP-enabled manufacturing).
The exact mechanism as to how e-commerce driven last-mile supply network (LMSN) configuration influences performance has been relatively undeveloped, and with mixed results in the extant literature which attempts to link configuration – as a meta-theory – with performance. This paper argues the difficulty in arriving to a convergent understanding because of a missing link that connects the relationship between configuration and performance. Specifically, it is posited that the missing link lies in the concept of logistics capabilities (measured as flexibility, delivery speed, delivery reliability, responsiveness to target market, and low total cost distribution) that have intrinsic capabilities embedded in configuration. Using the configurational approach, four configuration dimensions are identified: network structure, network flow, relationship and governance, and service architecture. By incorporating greater precision and additional theoretical considerations, this paper presents a conceptual framework through a set of propositions that provides greater depth of insight on the relationships considering the critical factors influencing logistics capabilities and LMSN configuration, and linking LMSN configuration with performance through the concept of logistics capabilities, that mediates the relationship between product and consumer portfolio with performance.
Supply chain integration is considered one of the major factors in improving performance. While each manufacturer must customise its supply chain to fit its particular circumstances, several core supply chain concepts must be embraced throughout the organisation. This paper is based on the data collected from a survey of 66 Indian textile-related organisations, carried out to ascertain issues related to integrated supply chain management. Issues related to objectives of integrated supply chain, importance of integrated supply chain, useful index for performance measurement of integrated supply chain and factors helpful in supply chain integration have been discussed. The findings indicate that the organisations consider lowering the production cost as the most crucial objective as well as a factor for performance measurement in integrated supply chain design. It has further been found that customer satisfaction is considered as most useful index for performance measurement in integrated supply chain design. Barriers in design and implementation of integrated supply chain are also discussed.
This paper deals with an integrated vendor-buyer supply chain model. Two models are constructed based on the probability distribution of the lead time demand. The lead time demand follows a normal distribution in the first model. In the second model, we consider the distribution free approach for the lead time demand. For the second model, only mean and standard deviation are known. The aim of our model is to reduce the total system cost by considering the setup cost reduction of the vendor. Finally, some numerical examples are presented to illustrate the models.
In the present market scenario, there are many challenges that are forcing the existing food supply chains for revamp. However, increasing global competition necessitates identifying right avenues for investing efforts and resources for such improvements. For this reason, it is important to thoroughly understand various aspects of Food Supply Chain Management (FSCM), the purposes for which it has been used in the past, the benefits of its applications and the obstacles that have been faced in its use. Keeping this in view, this paper presents a detailed review of literature on food supply chains based on 134 papers published in different journals between 1994 and 2009. Furthermore, it develops an elaborate framework for its classification and codification. The aim is to show the evolution of research in this area during these years and to provide a roadmap to facilitate the application of FSCM in the future.
The recent interest in and increasing demand for healthy, social and environmentally sustainable products, particularly in developed countries, have fostered the presence of organic coffee supermarket shelves of such countries. Proposes two models of B2B relationships for the Brazilian supply of organic coffee to international markets, more specifically, The Netherlands. For this proposition, compares two possible organizations of the supply chain wherein B2B relationships are based not only on contracts but more importantly on the informal safeguards of mutual trust, long-term orientation and joint actions. For the two proposed chains, a cross-border integrator is included to support the coordination of the business relationship. Emphasis is placed on coordination to increase overall efficiency of the supply chain through reduction of internal and transaction costs.
A "virtual enterprise" results from a temporary agreement among some enterprises, which decide to cooperate together into a given value chain for a limited time horizon. The crucial point in the development of said network is "to search for partners" and organize interactions among firms. In practice, a first problem has to be approached each time a re-organization of the network can be applied, by either including a new component firm or leaving a component to be independent. A second crucial problem refers to an individual enterprise, which has to decide about its own convenience to be a partner in a newtrok. The paper aims to define some criteria for supporting these two design problems. The scope is to have simple conditions able to evaluate if cooperation among potential partner firms could be successfully stipulated,.
In less than half a century, the supply chain management (SCM) imposed itself as a strategic expertise. Today, it lands a new era, more complex, and must be the synonymous of competitive advantage. The supply chain has essentially served as a link between customers and products, producers and suppliers. The generation of the new supply chain (SC) should be evolutionary, and should be adjusted quickly to the rise or the decrease of the various customers’ demands. Several problems of the supply chain are superimposed such as the amplification of the demand, also called the bullwhip effect (BWE). This latter is a distortion in the market demand when this demand propagates from enterprise to enterprise. Finally, at the end of the chain, the supplier of raw materials receives completely uncertain commands. Our research aims to reduce, or even eliminate, the bullwhip effect in two respects-namely increase of the stock level and reduction of the service given back to customers. The solution that we propose to the bullwhip rests on, firstly, the use of the preference functions based on a statistical chronological series analysis (Box and Jenkins method) in order to construct the different models such as demand, stock level, and the order quantity. Secondly, the integration of the decision maker preference in the demand forecast and inventory management processes.
In order to improve effectiveness of supply chain management and compete in today's dynamic global markets, it is not sufficient to have effective integrated processes within a business; synchronized operations of all partners in the supply chain is required. In the past, this has been achieved by one company owning or having control over all businesses in the chain. Now, it is more likely that this integration is carried out by using interorganisational information systems. This paper analyses the development and role of interorganisational information systems within supply chain management. The Internet has improved interorganisational information systems capability and therefore is being adopted as a routine platform for information systems development. An evaluation of its use is carried out.
The single-vendor single-buyer integrated production inventory system has been an object of study for a long time, but little is known about the effect of investing in reducing ordering cost on the integrated inventory models with backorder price discount and variable lead time. The purpose of this article is to investigate in the continuous review model with backorder price discount and variable lead time to effectively increase investment and to reduce the joint expected annual total cost. The integrated strategy discussed here is one in which the buyer orders a quantity, then the vendor produces n times order quantity in each production cycle, in order to reduce setup cost. In addition, the buyer offers backorder price discounts to the customers that may motivate the customers’ desire for backorders, and buyer ordering cost can be reduced through effective investment. An integrated inventory model is established to find the optimal solutions of order quantity, ordering cost, backorder price discount, lead time, and the number of shipments from the vendor to the buyer in one production run, so that the joint expected annual total cost incurred has the minimum value. Furthermore, numerical examples are used to demonstrate the benefits of the model.
The paper focuses on collaborative STEP-based CAD/CAM/CNC supply chains to program and automate machining process data monitoring and traceability activities. A traceability interface (traceability nc_functions) is defined for the new CNC programming standard ISO STEP-NC. CAM systems will be able to program monitoring and data access activities by inserting traceability nc_function calls in CNC programs. On the shop floor, controllers will automatically interpret these nc_functions to access process data while machining and will relate data records with the corresponding machining operations in a STEP-NC part program. With both types of information—process data and standard machining program (STEP-NC part program)—spread and technologically heterogeneous engineering systems will have full knowledge about what has happened in production. Traceability data access automation will assure data reliability. The paper describes a traceability scenario where standards such as MTConnect and ISA-95 support, rather than interfere with, the STEP-NC traceability proposal.
This paper presents the research done to integrate manufacturing traceability data and traceability processes in CAD/CAM/CNC chains. This implies a bidirectional data flow as traceability requirements have to be communicated downstream while the resulting collected data will be communicated upstream in the supply chain. The applied research has been developed over STEP-enable manufacturing environments, taking advantage of feature technology. The paper proposes a feature-linked mechanism between traceability information and product (CAD/CAM, etc) information to automate traceability activities: traceability requirements specification, traceability data collection and traceability data management.
This paper analizes the emerging organizations in business and production denoted “Networks of ENterprises (NEN)”, namely organizations generated by a temporary agreement of several firms which aim to cooperate together in a common business area. The aim of the paper is to show how an effective integration of the firms can be obtained through a NEN based on two structural basic elements: by connecting individual firms through “negotiation” interactions, and by managing connections through a “mediator”. Both conditions are necessary to state and apply design criteria for a NEN, as well as to assure an efficient performance of the NEN operations.
- A Villa
A. Villa, Organizational structures for distributed networks
of enterprises, IFAC-MIM Symp. on Manufacturing
Modeling, Management and Control, Patras, Greece, 2000,
pp. 74}78.