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;

Multi Site Coordination using a Multi-Agent System

A new approach of coordination of decisions in a multi site system is proposed. It is based this approach on a multi-agent concept and on the principle of distributed network of enterprises. For this purpose, each enterprise is defined as autonomous and performs simultaneously at the local and global levels. The basic component of our approach is a so-called Virtual Enterprise Node (VEN), where the enterprise network is represented as a set of tiers (like in a product breakdown structure). Within the network, each partner constitutes a VEN, which is in contact with several customers and suppliers. Exchanges between the VENs ensure the autonomy of decision, and guarantiee the consistency of information and material flows. Only two complementary VEN agents are necessary: one for external interactions, the Negotiator Agent (NA) and one for the planning of internal decisions, the Planner Agent (PA). If supply problems occur in the network, two other agents are defined: the Tier Negotiator Agent (TNA) working at the tier level only and the Supply Chain Mediator Agent (SCMA) working at the level of the enterprise network. These two agents are only active when the perturbation occurs. Otherwise, the VENs process the flow of information alone. With this new approach, managing enterprise network becomes much more transparent and looks like managing a simple enterprise in the network. The use of a Multi-Agent System (MAS) allows physical distribution of the decisional system, and procures a heterarchical organization structure with a decentralized control that guaranties the autonomy of each entity and the flexibility of the network

CROSS-CONTEXTUAL USE OF INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The international industry of engineering products and services is characterized by high complexity and competition. Corporations that expand globally have experienced that managing interdependent activities and business processes across several countries requires an effective deployment of advanced information technology. Whereas the literature has described implementation of global information systems as a means to coordinate and control the business processes, empirical studies have shown that introducing a large-scale information systems involves several managerial challenges when organizations are geographically dispersed. This paper studies deployment of a global enterprise system to support evolvement of global business processes. On the basis of a qualitative case study of a multinational corporation implementing an enterprise system across several geographical locations, we identify counteracting forces in the process of global standardization of IS and business processes and discuss how the organization try to manage these forces and challenges therein. The findings suggest that global business processes develop through diverse processes of learning and negotiation between local practices of use and infusion of the global enterprise system

Intelligens Neurális GRID rendszer és alkalmazásai

The Intelligent Neural GRID (INGRID) is a specific GRID system running artificial intelligence software and capable of solving analogous problems in real time. INGRID also has strong forecasting and classification capabilities. In this architecture the data-input can be in different locations but the evaluation of data is a global process using the shared resources of GRID and analogue processing of Cellular Neural Network. This means the local databases of different regions are evaluated in relationship with each other with an efficient data mining technology. Using pattern-recognition and pattern-analysis, INGRID can give global and local forecasts on analyzed processes. Potential applications of INGRID technology include applications in the field of phasing enterprise resource planning, more efficient data mining, forecasts of market events, traffic control, knowledge resource sharing, integration of information and visual search. Other application possibilities include meteorology, climatic control, environmental management, pollution and inundation control of rivers

A framework for hierarchical, object-oriented simulation modeling of a steel manufacturing enterprise

This is the final report of a two-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The objective of the project is to combine detailed physical models of industrial processes with unit operations and business-level models. This would allow global and individual process control schemes to be implemented that would facilitate improved overall system performance. Intelligent decision support that employs expert system concepts (knowledge base and rules) could then also be incorporated. This project is innovative because it attempts to incorporate all levels of production-related activities from atoms to enterprise, and to integrate those activities into one comprehensive decision support tool. This project is an interdisciplinary effort requiring enterprise modeling and simulation model integration; process modeling and control; process control and optimization; chemical process modeling; and detailed molecular-level models. It represents the state of the art in enterprise modeling and simulation and incorporates cutting edge process modeling, process control, and system optimization techniques

Minimization Of Rewok In Belt Industry Using Dmaic

The fast changing economic conditions such as global competition, declining profit margin, customer demand for high quality product, product variety and reduced lead–time etc. had a major impact on manufacturing industries. To respond to these needs a new paradigm in this area of manufacturing strategies is Six Sigma. The Six Sigma approach has been increasingly adopted world wide in the manufacturing sector in order to enhance productivity and quality performance and to make the process robust to quality variations. This paper discusses the quality and productivity improvement in a manufacturing enterprise through a case study. The paper deals with an application of Six Sigma DMAIC(Define–Measure- Analyze-Improve-Control) methodology in an industry which provides a framework to identify, quantify and eliminate sources of variation in an operational process in question, to optimize the operation variables, improve and sustain performance viz. process yield with well-executed control plans. Six Sigma improves the process performance (process yield) of the critical operational process, leading to better utilization of resources, decreases variations & maintains consistent quality of the process output

An Approach for Supporting Ad-hoc Modifications in Distributed Workflow Management Systems

Supporting enterprise-wide or even cross-organizational business processes is a characteristic challenge for any workflow management system (WfMS). Scalability at the presence of high loads as well as the capability to dynamically modify running workflow (WF) instances (e.g., to cope with exceptional situations) are essential requirements in this context. Should the latter one, in particular, not be met, the WfMS will not have the necessary flexibility to cover the wide range of process-oriented applications deployed in many organizations. Scalability and flexibility have, for the most part, been treated separately in the relevant literature thus far. Even though they are basic needs for a WfMS, the requirements related with them are totally different. To achieve satisfactory scalability, on the one hand, the system needs to be designed such that a workflow instance can be controlled by several WF servers that are as independent from each other as possible. Yet dynamic WF modifications, on the other hand, necessitate a (logical) central control instance which knows the current and global state of a WF instance. For the first time, this paper presents methods which allow ad-hoc modifications (e.g., to insert, delete, or shift steps) to be performed in a distributed WfMS; i.e., in a WfMS with partitioned WF execution graphs and distributed WF control. It is especially noteworthy that the system succeeds in realizing the full functionality as given in the central case while, at the same time, achieving extremely favorable behavior with respect to communication costs

Models for Trustworthy Service and Process Oriented Systems

Service and process-oriented systems promise to provide more effective business and work processes and more flexible and adaptable enterprise IT systems. However, the technologies and standards are still young and unstable, making research in their theoretical foundations increasingly important. Our studies focus on two dichotomies: the global/local views of service interactions, and their imperative/declarative specification. A global view of service interactions describes a process as a protocol for interactions, as e.g. an UML sequence diagram or a WS-CDL choreography. A local view describes the system as a set of processes, e.g. specified as a mipi-calculus or WS-BPEL process, implementing each participant in the process. While the global view is what is usually provided as specification, the local view is a necessary step towards a distributed implementation. If processes are defined imperatively, the control flow is defined explicitly, e.g. as a sequence or flow graph of interactions/commands. In a declarative approach processes are described as a collection of conditions they should fulfill in order to be considered correct. The two approaches have evolved rather independently from each other. Our thesis is that we can provide a theoretical framework based on typed concurrent process and concurrent constraint calculi for the specification, analysis and verification of service and process oriented system designs which bridges the global and local view and combines the imperative and declarative specification approaches, and can be employed to increase the trust in the developed systems. This article describes our main motivations, results and future research directions

Cost Systems, Cost Allocation, Planning and Decision Making, Cost Planning for the Product Life Cycle and Operational Performance Measurement

In an intensively competing global market place, without an effective cost accounting system, it is doubtful whether a business could survive. The ability to determine the costs of products using product costing techniques, planning and controlling the enterprise using budgeting techniques and making decisions about the future of the organization using appraisal techniques is paramount. This course is divided into three modules. Module One dwell on: Cost systems – Job costing, activity based costing, process costing, Cost allocation - departments, joint products and by products. Module Two explains the planning and decision making – Cost estimation, short-term profit, cost volume profit (CVP) Analysis, strategy and the master budget, strategy and analysis of capital investments while: Module Three gives an exposition of Cost planning for the product life cycle – target costing, theory of constraints and strategic pricing, Operational level control, Operational performance measurement – cost variances and resources, capacity and management and control qualit

Organization and Application of Information Technologies in Enterprises of Herzegovina Region

Rapid development of information technologies has had a big influence on global economy and has activated the series of changes such as: globalization, liberalization, concurrency growth, market expansion, availability of market information to all segments etc. Also, the significance of the Information itself has become larger since information technologies are making the process of gathering, processing, storing and distributing of data much easier with the primary goal of possessing the right information at the right time and at the right place in the organization with minimization of costs. The achievement of this goal is leading to improvement in all segments of business activity such as: research and development of new products, process of supply, supply management, accounting and finance, marketing, sales, control, communication and decision making. Application of information technologies in the modern business does not only include buyingand owning PCs in the company, but also a presence of high quality organization and utilization of information technologies which is a guarantee for successful and competitive existence in the market. What kind of information system should be implemented is dependant on the company size, amount of information and data it operates with, the type of business, future plans etc. The objective of this research is to get the picture of level of enterprise informatization in Herzegovina with respect to amount and manner of information technology utilization. From these goals, the following hypotheses were set: H1 – information technologies are insufficiently used and are not appropriately organized in the companies of Herzegovina region H2 – there are substantial differences in utilization and organization of information technologies in the enterprises of Herzegovina region regarding their size This paper will present the research based on the original questionnaire from the project named "Research and need analysis for training and consultative services for small and medium enterprises in the Herzegovina region" which was carried out by the authors for the Herzegovina regional development agency. The research was conducted in the end of year 2008 and in the beginning of 2009 and it comprised 105 enterprises from the Herzegovina region which spans over Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Srpska. The size of the enterprise (micro, small, medium and large) was defined through a two-dimensional criteria including two variables: number of employees and total income. The research is expected to confirm the hypothesis and create the foundation for undertaking the appropriate actions in order to change the current, unsatisfying situation.Information technologies, organization, enterprise, Herzegovina