The Conceptual Framework for Business Process Innovation: Towards a Research Program on Global Supply Chain Intelligence

This paper proposes a research program on Business Process Innovation: Towards Global Supply Chain Intelligence. Few words are more ubiquitous in business or society today than "innovation". This reflects that businesses are striving for ways to survive and thrive in an increasingly complex and connected world (IBM 2006). Most industrial supply chains today are globally scattered and nearly all organizations rely on their Enterprise Information Systems (ES) for integration and coordination of their activities. In this context innovation inevitably is driven by advanced information technology. Organizations today are required not only to operate effective business processes but they also need to accommodate to changing business conditions at an increasing rate. Consequently the ability to develop and implement new processes driven by the Enterprise Information Systems is a central competence in most industries, and furthermore it is a critical practice for a global enterprise. The next practice in Global Supply Chain Management is Business Process Innovation. Business Process Innovation is the transformation of a global supply chain driven by a new advanced Enterprise Information Systems technology. This technology holds the potential to "close the control loop", but until now few organizations have managed to unleash the full potential of global supply chain intelligence. Thus, there is an emerging need for managing the transformation and for new approaches that will lead to robust global supply chains. This paper presents a conceptual framework for Business Process Innovation. A research proposal based on five interrelated topics is derived from the framework. The research program is intended to establish and to develop the conceptual framework for business process innovation and to apply this framework in a global supply chain context. These topics are presented in the following sections, but first the background for the program is discussed.No keywords;

A Layered Software Architecture for the Management of a Manufacturing Company

In this paper we describe a layered software architecture in the management of a manufactur-ing company that intensively uses computer technology. Application tools, new and legacy, after the updating, operate in a context of an open web oriented architecture. The software architecture enables the integration and interoperability among all tools that support business processes. Manufacturing Executive System and Text Mining tools are excellent interfaces, the former both for internal production and management processes and the latter for external processes coming from the market. In this way, it is possible to implement, a computer integrated factory, flexible and agile, that immediately responds to customer requirements.ICT, Service Oriented Architecture, Web Services, Computer-Integrated Factory, Application Software

Integrating information and knowledge for enterprise innovation

It has widely been accepted that enterprise integration, can be a source of socio-technical and cultural problems within organisations wishing to provide a focussed end-to-end business service. This can cause possible “straitjacketing” of business process architectures, thus suppressing responsive business re-engineering and competitive advantage for some companies. Accordingly, the current typology and emergent forms of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) technologies are set in the context of understanding information and knowledge integration philosophies. As such, key influences and trends in emerging IS integration choices, for end-to-end, cost-effective and flexible knowledge integration, are examined. As touch points across and outside organisations proliferate, via work-flow and relationship management-driven value innovation, aspects of knowledge refinement and knowledge integration pose challenges to maximising the potential of innovation and sustainable success, within enterprises. This is in terms of the increasing propensity for data fragmentation and the lack of effective information management, in the light of information overload. Furthermore, the nature of IS mediation which is inherent within decision making and workflow-based business processes, provides the basis for evaluation of the effects of information and knowledge integration. Hence, the authors propose a conceptual, holistic evaluation framework which encompasses these ideas. It is thus argued that such trends, and their implications regarding enterprise IS integration to engender sustainable competitive advantage, require fundamental re-thinking

Enterprise modelling : building a product lifecycle (PLM) model as a component of the integrated vision of the enterprise

Enterprise modelling has proved to be an efficient tool to study organisations structure and facilitate decision making. The enterprise is a complex system that is required to use its processes to generate value in a given environment (concurrent, market, suppliers and humanity). We focus on three management disciplines: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). These business processes are so intertwined that the enterprise has to concentrate on the three to attain its economic objectives. To enhance the development of PLM, SCM and CRM models, the enterprise needs to capitalise the knowledge necessary to adapt and apply modelling techniques. Knowledge Management (KM) is a key factor to give a unified enterprise vision. Firstly, we propose an integrated enterprise model depicting the interactions between PLM, SCM, CRM and KM models. But a state of the art showed that PLM models are scarce. Most of the PLM models found depends strongly on the particular case studied and can not be used with other enterprises. After defining the most important components of the PLM vision, we propose to organise these components into a formalised way. The study of SCM and CRM models proved to be helpful to structure these components. Finally the validation methodology that is to be established in our coming research works is not only to be used with the PLM model presented in this paper but with SCM and CRM models also.Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Enterprise modelling, Enterprise systems

A novel framework for the use of workflow system in the integration of supply chain tiers

The global competition has imposed challenges to supply chain integration, mainly, during the process of obtain information to make demand management decisions. This paper proposes an integrated framework for data collection, analysis and results dissemination in the supply chain management (SCM), contributing to research and alternatives for \u201cThe Bullwhip Effect\u201d issue. In this sense, it is necessary to discuss the integration of supply chain management, Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) functionality and others systems, to enlarge this scope to the total supply chain players. The ERP web-based tool and Workflow Systems (WS) can contribute to solve issues related to supply chain management. Starting from a detailed analysis of the research background regarding current SCM definitions and integration problems, Information Technology and Communication (ITC) development and WS in order to map and ensure flow fluency; the paper proposes a model to increase the overall integrations and an application in a case study for supporting the decisions that are aligned with the company\u2019s strategic objectives. This paper is divided in: research background; proposed model of the SC integration; case study, conclusions and future research

Product to process lifecycle management in assembly automation systems

Presently, the automotive industry is facing enormous pressure due to global competition and ever changing legislative, economic and customer demands. Product and process development in the automotive manufacturing industry is a challenging task for many reasons. Current product life cycle management (PLM) systems tend to be product-focussed. Though, information about processes and resources are there but mostly linked to the product. Process is an important aspect, especially in assembly automation systems that link products to their manufacturing resources. This paper presents a process-centric approach to improve PLM systems in large-scale manufacturing companies, especially in the powertrain sector of the automotive industry. The idea is to integrate the information related to key engineering chains i.e. products, processes and resources based upon PLM philosophy and shift the trend of product-focussed lifecycle management to process-focussed lifecycle management, the outcome of which is the Product, Process and Resource Lifecycle Management not PLM only

Towards the integration of enterprise software: The business manufacturing intelligence

Nowadays, the Information Communication Technology has pervaded literally the companies. In the company circulates an huge amount of information but too much information doesn’t provide any added value. The overload of information exceeds individual processing capacity and slowdowns decision making operations. We must transform the enormous quantity of information in useful knowledge taking in consideration that information becomes obsolete quickly in condition of dynamic market. Companies process this information by specific software for managing, efficiently and effectively, the business processes. In this paper we analyse the myriad of acronyms of software that is used in enterprises with the changes that occurred over the time, from production to decision making until to convergence in an intelligent modular enterprise software, that we named Business Manufacturing Intelligence (BMI), that will manage and support the enterprise in the futurebusiness manufacturing intelligence, enterprise resource planning; business intelligence; management software; automation software; decision making software

A Conceptual Framework for Definition of the Correlation Between Company Size Categories and the Proliferation of Business Information Systems in Hungary Download article

Based on a conceptual model, this paper aims to explore the background of the decision-making process leading to the introduction of business information systems among enterprises in Hungary. Together with presenting the problems arising in the course of the implementation of such systems, their usage patterns are also investigated. A strong correlation is established between the size of an enterprise, the scope of its business activities and the range of the business information systems it applies