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

Utilization of e-Logistics in multinational companies to overcome difficulties of today’s economic environment

As the incredible growth of the Internet is changing the way corporations conduct their business. Logistics service providers must consider changing their traditional logistics system into an e-Logistics system in order to accommodate to the dynamic changes in the commercial world. The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of how organizations utilize e-Logistics within their supply chain and how to create a competitive advantage during the economic crisis so that losses be limited if not eliminated. To reach this purpose, two research questions are stated (two multinational companies), focusing the factors that influence the e-Logistics system. From the in-depth interviews and used to collect data, the findings show that the e-Logistics system can be described as a network creating value process. The findings further indicate that reliability factors, maintainability factors, software factors and facility, transportation and handling factors, all influence the e-Logistics system. On the other hand, availability factors, economic factors, organizational factors and test and support equipment factors are of low-level importance for e-logistics system. The second part of the paper focuses on how e-logistics will change the multinational traditional logistics systems and how we can measure (Key Performance Indicators) these changes.competitively, e-logistics, economic crises, measure (key Performance Indicators).

Application of Value Stream Mapping in E-Commerce: A Case Study on an Amazon Retailer

In recent years, the e-commerce market has grown significantly, and the online retail market has become very competitive. Online retailers strive to improve their supply chain operations to reduce costs and to improve customer satisfaction. Value stream mapping (VSM), a tool created by the lean production movement to identify and reduce errors, losses, and lead time and to improve value-added activities, has been proven to be effective in many manufacturing processes. In this study, we investigate the application of value stream mapping (VSM) in the supply chain of an e-commerce retailer on Amazon. By visualizing the entire supply chain with VSM, the waste that is produced during the delivery process from the retailer to the customer was identified. The five whys method was then applied to find the root cause of the waste. Furthermore, a scoring method was developed to evaluate and compare two different supply chain logistic models to identify a strategy for improvement. This study provides a systematic methodology to understand, evaluate, and improve the entire e-commerce supply chain process utilizing VSM. It was demonstrated that the methodology could improve supply chain management efficiency, customer satisfaction, and cost reduction

Soa Reference Architecture Blueprint

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a framework for integrating business processes and supporting IT infrastructure as secure, standardized components services that can be reused and combined to address changing business priorities. Services are the building blocks of SOA and new applications can be constructed through consuming these services and orchestrating services within a business process. In SOA, services is map to the business functions that are identified during business process analysis. Upon a successful implementation of SOA, the enterprise gain benefit by reducing development time, utilizing flexibility and responsive application structure, and following dynamic connectivity of application logics between business partners. This paper presents SOA reference architecture blueprint as the building blocks of SOA which is services, service components and flows that together support enterprise business processes and the business goals. Layanan Berorientasi Arsitektur (SOA) merupakan framework untuk mengintegrasikan proses bisnis dan mendukung infrastruktur TI secara aman, layanan komponen standar yang dapat digunakan kembali dan dikombinasikan untuk mengatasi Perubahan prioritas bisnis. Layanan merupakan blok bangunan SOA, di mana aplikasi baru dapat dibangun melalui konsumsi layanan ini dan merancang layanan dalam proses bisnis. Dalam SOA, layanan dipetakan ke fungsi bisnis yang diidentifikasi selama analisis proses bisnis. Setelah keberhasilan implementasi SOA, Perusahaan memperoleh keuntungan diantaranya mengurangi waktu pengembangan, memanfaatkan fleksibilitas dan struktur aplikasi responsif, dan mengikuti konektivitas dinamis dari logika aplikasi antara mitra bisnis. Paper ini menyajikan cetak biru referensi arsitektur SOA sebagai blok bangunan SOA yang merupakan komponen pelayanan jasa, dan arus yang bersama-sama mendukung proses bisnis Perusahaan dan tujuan bisnis

Recent advances in industrial wireless sensor networks towards efficient management in IoT

With the accelerated development of Internet-of- Things (IoT), wireless sensor networks (WSN) are gaining importance in the continued advancement of information and communication technologies, and have been connected and integrated with Internet in vast industrial applications. However, given the fact that most wireless sensor devices are resource constrained and operate on batteries, the communication overhead and power consumption are therefore important issues for wireless sensor networks design. In order to efficiently manage these wireless sensor devices in a unified manner, the industrial authorities should be able to provide a network infrastructure supporting various WSN applications and services that facilitate the management of sensor-equipped real-world entities. This paper presents an overview of industrial ecosystem, technical architecture, industrial device management standards and our latest research activity in developing a WSN management system. The key approach to enable efficient and reliable management of WSN within such an infrastructure is a cross layer design of lightweight and cloud-based RESTful web service

Unsupervised landmark analysis for jump detection in molecular dynamics simulations

Molecular dynamics is a versatile and powerful method to study diffusion in solid-state ionic conductors, requiring minimal prior knowledge of equilibrium or transition states of the system's free energy surface. However, the analysis of trajectories for relevant but rare events, such as a jump of the diffusing mobile ion, is still rather cumbersome, requiring prior knowledge of the diffusive process in order to get meaningful results. In this work, we present a novel approach to detect the relevant events in a diffusive system without assuming prior information regarding the underlying process. We start from a projection of the atomic coordinates into a landmark basis to identify the dominant features in a mobile ion's environment. Subsequent clustering in landmark space enables a discretization of any trajectory into a sequence of distinct states. As a final step, the use of the smooth overlap of atomic positions descriptor allows distinguishing between different environments in a straightforward way. We apply this algorithm to ten Li-ionic systems and conduct in-depth analyses of cubic Li$_{7}$La$_{3}$Zr$_{2}$O$_{12}$, tetragonal Li$_{10}$GeP$_{2}$S$_{12}$, and the $\beta$-eucryptite LiAlSiO$_{4}$. We compare our results to existing methods, underscoring strong points, weaknesses, and insights into the diffusive behavior of the ionic conduction in the materials investigated

Supply Chain Conceptual Model in Logistic Operation Strategies for Best Practice Performance

Business actors, ranging from national to global levels, seek to capitalize on competitive advantages, and modern supply chains often adopt a globally distributed manufacturing system by outsourcing logistics processes to service providers. In the FMCG (Fast- Moving Consumer Goods) industry, companies must effectively control the supply chain through the establishment of a robust logistics and SCM (Supply Chain Management) management system. This study aims to analyze and describe an efficient logistics management model in the FMCG industry to enhance company performance. The research employs a qualitative descriptive method, utilizing a narrative literature study and conducting case studies on FMCG companies in Indonesia. The study’s findings demonstrate that building and implementing an effective logistics model, particularly through the integration of information technology, service quality, and communication, along with optimizing delivery methods, can significantly improve company performance in the FMCG industry. Moreover, the study highlights the impact of commitment and trust on loyalty, attitudes, and behavior concerning logistics management within the FMCG sector. Keywords: business, FMCG, logistics, operations management, supply chain managemen

Web Services Support for Dynamic Business Process Outsourcing

Outsourcing of business processes is crucial for organizations to be effective, efficient and flexible. To meet fast-changing market conditions, dynamic outsourcing is required, in which business relationships are established and enacted on-the-fly in an adaptive, fine-grained way unrestricted by geographic distance. This requires automated means for both the establishment of outsourcing relationships and for the enactment of services performed in these relationships over electronic channels. Due to wide industry support and the underlying model of loose coupling of services, Web services increasingly become the mechanism of choice to connect organizations across organizational boundaries. This paper analyzes to which extent Web services support the dynamic process outsourcing paradigm. We discuss contract -based dynamic business process outsourcing to define requirements and then introduce the Web services framework. Based on this, we investigate the match between the two. We observe that the Web services framework requires further support for cross - organizational business processes and mechanisms for contracting, QoS management and process-based transaction support and suggest ways to fill those gaps