Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Performance measurement system for warehouse activities based on the SCOR® model : A research study in collaboration with Consafe Logistics AB, Sweden

Background: SCOR is a worldwide accepted and renowned process reference model that is developed and endorsed by the non-profit organization Supply Chain Council. It’s a cross-industry diagnostic tool for supply chain management. Consafe Logistics wanted to know if a performance measurement system for warehouse activities could be developed based on the SCOR model, and how it could be applied in their organization to offer enhanced customer satisfaction. Research issue: Previously, there’s been no standardized model used to define warehouse metrics at Consafe Logistics. If more relevant and standardized metrics would be used, Consafe Logistics could arguably be more efficient, give better support to customers and consequently generate greater customer satisfaction. The research should investigate if the SCOR framework can be applied to the company’s services within warehouse management. Furthermore, Consafe Logistics would like to gain a comprehensive picture of what metrics their customers currently measure in order to identify if metrics from the SCOR portfolio are applicable. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a performance measurement system for warehouse activities; the system should be based on the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model. Method: The method used in this study was a combination of many elements. First a situation analysis were performed to clarify the initially vague information and to be able to construct the research issue, the purpose and the delimitations for this study. Then a literature study was conducted to make sure enough knowledge was gained about warehouse management, performance measurements and the SCOR model. The empirical data was gathered in a combinatory approach between a qualitative pre-study and a quantitative and qualitative web-based survey. The main purpose of the prestudy was to gain relevant and in depth information from practitioners. The survey was a broader investigation and thereby gave more opportunity for generalization. The information was then analyzed and a performance measurement system for warehouse activities was developed. Conclusions: This study has reached its purpose to develop a performance measurement system based on SCOR. A process model that focuses on the operational tasks within warehousing was designed. If Consafe Logistics implements this warehouse process model, a relevant set of metrics can be achieved for each customer. In this way Consafe Logistics could save a lot of resources in trying to figure out what clients want to measure

Strategic adoption of logistics and supply chain management

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a thorough understanding of the adoption of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) in practice, particularly at a strategic level, through an investigation of the four perspectives taxonomy of the relationship between logistics and SCM. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a comprehensive literature review, three specific research questions are proposed. The empirical work addresses these questions and comprised three phases: focussed interviews, a questionnaire survey and focus groups. Findings: The findings provide a usage profile of the four perspectives and indicate a divergence between the understanding and adoption of logistics and SCM principles and concepts at a strategic level in firms. The findings also identify the critical success factors (CSFs) and inhibitors to success in addressing this divergence. Research limitations/implications: The insights generated using the authors’ methodologically pluralist research design could be built upon to include case studies, grounded theory and action research. Replicating the research in other geographical areas could facilitate international comparisons. Practical implications: The findings allow practitioners to compare their perspectives on the relationship between logistics and SCM with those of their peers. The CSFs and inhibitors to success provide a rational basis for realising the strategic potential of logistics and SCM in practice. Originality/value: New insights are generated into practitioner perspectives vis-à-vis logistics vs SCM. A fresh understanding of those factors which drive and hinder the adoption of strategic SCM is also developed and presented

A conceptual framework for capability sourcing modeling

Companies need to acquire the right capabilities from the right source, and the right shore, at the right cost to improve their competitive position. Capability sourcing is an organizing process to gain access to best-in-class capabilities for all activities in a firm's value chain to ensure long-term competitive advantage. Capability sourcing modeling is a technique that helps investigating sourcing alternative solutions to facilitate strategic sourcing decision making. Our position is applying conceptual models as intermediate artifacts which are schematic descriptions of sourcing alternatives based on organization's capabilities. The contribution of this paper is introducing a conceptual framework in the form of five views (to organize all perspectives) and a conceptualisation (to formulate a language) for capability sourcing modelling