Mobile Computing and Auto ID Technologies in Supply Chain Event Management - An Agent Based Approach

This paper presents the architecture of an agent-based system for Supply Chain Event Management. Auto-ID (= Automatic Identification), mobile and agent technologies are combined within this agentbased system called CoS.MA (Cooperative and Ubiquitous Supply-Network Monitoring Agents) in order to realize permanent tracking & tracing of resources (e.g. products, vehicles) in supply networks and to visualize resource-related key performance measures. Potentials and challenges in realizing supply networks by means of such technologies are discussed. CoS.MA is based on a peer-topeer network architecture. Each member (node) of a supply network will be represented by one CoS.MA agent platform. Mobile agents may migrate between those agent platforms to integrate and to visualize distributed data. An overview of existing agent-based prototypes in Supply Chain Event Management is given to show the state-of-the-art in this emerging research area

Globally unique product identifiers— requirements and solutions to product lifecycle management

Managing product information for product items during their whole lifetime is challenging, especially during their usage and end-of-life phases. A major challenge is how to keep a link between the product item and its associated information, which may be stored in backend systems of different organisations. In this paper, we analyse and compare three approaches for addressing this task, i.e. the EPC Network, DIALOG and WWAI

Enhancing Supply Chain Reliability through Agent-Based Supply Chain Event Management

Supply Chain Event Management (SCEM) is an approach to the monitoring of supply chains. It observes specific events and exceptions in real-time and then alerts managers if problems occur. This paper presents an architecture for an SCEM system based on intelligent software agents, Auto-ID technologies and mobile user interfaces. The motivation for this approach is to enhance existing SCEM solutions by exploiting up-to-date technologies. It delegates the task of automated problem solving when disruptions in supply chains occur to software agents

Supply Chain Event Management System

The Supply Chain Management (SCM) can be defined as the set of proposals used to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers and warehouses, such that the product is produced and distributed in the right quantity and at the right time, minimizing the total cost and satisfying the required service level (Simchi-Levi et al., 1999). To this aim, enterprises in a Supply Chain (SC) perform collaborative business processes (Soosay et al., 2008). Particularly, collaborative planning processes allow each enterprise to obtain production and/or distribution schedules synchronized with schedules of the other SC members (Derrouiche et al., 2008). In this chapter, a schedule is defined as a set of orders, where each order represents a supply process (production or distribution) that assigns materials to a place, states the required resources, the time period during which each resource is required and its required capacity. The execution of a schedule implies performing the operations defined in the supply process each order represents. As result of the uncertainty inherent in any supply process (Kleindorfer & Saad, 2005) disruptive events arise. The problems they cause during a schedule execution occur on a daily basis, and affect not only the organization where they are produced but also propagate throughout the SC (Lee et al., 1997; Radjou et al., 2002). That is, these disruptive events may affect the schedules and their synchronization. In this chapter a disruptive event is defined as a significant change in the order specifications or planned values of resource availability. These changes could be: rush or delay in the start or end date of the order, changes in the amount specified by the order, change in the expected future availability of a resource, and change into the current level of a resource regards to its planned value. They can be produced by changes that can take place into the enterprise or outside the enterprise. For example, an equipment breakdown, breakage of materials, change of material specification, weather conditions, traffic congestion, etc. The occurrence of disruptive events is a fact well known to the planning task, and therefore planning systems generate schedules including buffers (material, resource capacity and time) to be robust and flexible, thus the schedule can be adapted to conditions occurring during implementation (Van Landeghem & Vanmaele, 2002; Adhitya et al., 2007; Wang

Elinkaaritiedon hallinta tuotetietomallissa

In modern, global manufacturing business, value is increasingly created by services related to products rather than the products themselves. In industries related to the built environment, various products installed in the buildings are a major asset for the operators and managers of buildings. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), managing and exploiting product-related information throughout the lifecycle of the product, has become both a requirement and an important tool for effective service business development. Extensive and interactive PLM requires a universal system for information exchange across the lifecycles of buildings and products. The objective of the study is to define and implement the minimum requirements set by a product-centric information exchange system in an IFC-based product information model, based on use case of managing installed medical equipment in hospital environment. The study comprises a literature analysis and a use case. Late literature was reviewed to analyse developments of intelligence and lifecycle management in products and buildings. It was found that major challenges exist in exchanging lifecycle information between stakeholders and across lifecycle stages. Based on the analysis, it is proposed that using the technologies of building information modelling and a product-centric information exchange system could provide novel solutions to the identified challenges. In the use case, a method was developed for incorporating an open, product-centric PLM information exchange system into the existing IFC standard. It was found that an URI-based, product-centric information exchange system using external databases and product servers satisfies the requirements of effective PLM information exchange. Additionally, it was found that using IFC for product information modelling can effectively support such a system by linking virtual building and product information models into the lifecycle information stored in external servers.Nykyaikaisessa, kansainvälisessä valmistavan teollisuuden liiketoiminnassa arvoa luodaan entistä enemmän tuotteisiin liittyvillä palveluilla kuin itse tuotteilla. Rakennettuun ympäristöön liittyvässä liiketoiminnassa rakennuksiin asennetut tuotteet muodostavat suuren pääoman rakennusten käyttäjille ja hallinnoijille. Tuotteiden elinkaaren hallinta (Product Lifecycle Management, PLM), eli tuotteisiin liittyvän tiedon hallinta ja hyödyntäminen tuotteen elinkaaren aikana, on muodostunut sekä vaatimukseksi että tärkeäksi työkaluksi tehokkaiden liiketoiminnallisten palvelujen kehittämisessä. Laaja-alainen ja vuorovaikutteinen PLM edellyttää yleismaailmallista tiedonvaihtojärjestelmää rakennusten ja tuotteiden elinkaarten varrelle. Työn tavoitteena on määritellä ja toteuttaa tuotekeskeisen tiedonvaihtojärjestelmän asettamat vähimmäisvaatimukset IFC-pohjaiseen tuotetietomalliin käyttötapauksessa (use case), jossa kiinteästi asennettavia lääkinnällisiä laitteita hallitaan sairaalaympäristössä. Työ koostuu kirjallisuustutkimuksesta ja käyttötapauksesta. Tuotteiden ja rakennusten elinkaaren hallinnan ja älyn kehitystä analysoitiin kirjallisuuslähteiden perusteella. Elinkaaren aikaisen tiedon vaihtamisessa osapuolten ja elinkaaren vaiheiden välillä havaittiin merkittäviä haasteita. Analyysin perusteella työssä esitetään, että tietomallintamisen teknologioiden ja tuotekeskeisen tiedonvaihtojärjestelmän käyttäminen voivat tarjota uusia ratkaisuja tunnistettuihin haasteisiin. Käyttötapauksessa kehitettiin menetelmä avoimen, tuotekeskeisen PLM-tiedonvaihtojärjestelmän yhdistämiseksi nykyiseen IFC-standardiin. Työssä havaittiin, että URI:in perustuva, ulkoisia tietokantoja ja tuotepalvelimia hyödyntävä tuotekeskeinen tiedonvaihtojärjestelmä täyttää tehokkaan PLM-tiedonvaihdon vaatimukset. Lisäksi havaittiin, että tuotteiden tietomallintaminen IFC:ia käyttämällä tukee järjestelmää tehokkaasti linkittämällä virtuaaliset rakennus- ja tuotetietomallit ulkoisilla palvelimilla sijaitsevaan elinkaaritietoon

Product traceability in the pharmaceutical supply chain : an analysis of the auto-ID approach

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-73).This thesis analyzes how the Auto-ID technology and information infrastructure will change the management and distribution of pharmaceutical products within the health care industry by enabling item level product traceability functionality. The complexity of the health care industry is steadily growing, due to the concurrent increase in medical knowledge, biomedical technologies, the number of medications and the age of the population. The key to ensuring the quality, integrity and availability of health care goods is the ability to track and trace individual items throughout their complete life-cycle from manufacturing to disposal. Product traceability within the Supply Chain is becoming increasingly important for pharmaceutical manufacturers because the increasing number of medications distributed worldwide has led to the proliferation of counterfeit drugs, product diversions, re-importations and grey markets. Ultimately, the increasing complexity of the pharmaceutical distribution could affect patient safety. The potential of the Auto-ID technology and information infrastructure to synchronize the information and material flow is illustrated using a case study methodology.by Attilio Bellman.M.Eng.in Logistic