Using business process specifications and agents to integrate a scenario-driven supply chain

In today's increasingly competitive global market, most enterprises place great stress on reducing order fulfillment costs, minimizing time-to-market and maximizing product quality. The desire of businesses to achieve these goals has seen a shift from a make-to-stock paradigm to a make-to-order paradigm. The success of the make-to-order paradigm requires robust and efficient supply chain integration and implementation in the business-to-business (B2B) environment. Recent Internet-based approaches to this problem have enabled efficient and effective information sharing among trading partners (i.e., customers, manufacturers and suppliers). Here we present an integration framework for supply chain operations among trading partners in the B2B environment. A supply chain scenario is formed, for which an integration framework is proposed by using the concepts of business process specifications (BPS) and agent technology. The BPS with message choreographies among the trading partners is detailed by using a modified unified modelling language (UML). The behaviour of the enterprise applications within each trading partner is modelled as agent concepts by using Petri-nets, which depict how the enterprise applications respond to external events specified in the BPS. The concepts and models proposed in this paper should provide the starting point for the formulation of a structured approach to B2B supply chain integration and implementation.X114sciescopu

Metodologia multicritério na seleção de sistemas de informação na gestão da cadeia de abastecimento

Os sistemas de informação empresariais têm vindo nos últimos anos a afirmar- se como ferramentas essenciais no mercado cada vez mais competitivo em que as empresas se encontram. Pretende-se com este trabalho aplicar uma metodologia de apoio à tomada de decisão baseada num modelo decisão multicritério que permite a avaliação e seleção de um sistema de informação (SI) num determinado contexto. Para atingir esse objetivo foi utilizado o estudo de caso na empresa Proef, SGSP. Foi então realizada uma revisão bibliográfica sobre a gestão da cadeia de abastecimento, logística e teoria da decisão para dar suporte a todo o trabalho prático. Posteriormente foi aplicada a metodologia Multicritério para Apoio à seleção de SI – MMASSI/TI com base nos processos existentes na organização. Com recurso à aplicação informática foi obtido o sistema de informação mais adequado ao contexto de decisão, sendo este resultado avaliado através de uma análise de sensibilidade e robustez. Desta dissertação surgiram limitações e também recomendações futuras.Business information systems have come in recent years to establish itself as an essential tool in the increasingly competitive market where companies meet. The aim of this work is to apply a methodology of decision support based on a multicriteria decision model that allows the evaluation and selection of an information system in a given decision context. To achieve this goal it was used the case study in the company Proef, SGSP. It was then carried out a literature review on supply chain management, logistics and decision theory to support all the practical work. Later, it was applied the multicriteria methodology for decision making support - MMASSI / IT based on existing processes in the organization. Using this computer application was obtained the information system that best suited to the decisional context, being this result evaluated through a sensitivity analysis and robustness. From this dissertation emerged limitations and future recommendations

Décision collaborative dans les systèmes distribués : application à la e-maintenance

Depuis leur apparition, les Technologies d'Information et de Communication (TIC) ont intégré et fait évoluer les modes de travail des entreprises, avec les notions de e-service, de travail collaboratif, d'organisations distribuées et de mutualisation des connaissances. Nous considérons cette intégration des TIC à la fonction maintenance, activité clé de la performance des entreprises, largement pénétrée par ces technologies avec, par exemple, les concepts de e-maintenance. Nos objectifs sont d'analyser les processus décisionnels collaboratifs et l'influence des TIC sur ceux-ci et de proposer les moyens d'évaluer les performances d'un service de maintenance supporté par les TIC. La modélisation du problème revêt un aspect multidomaine, multivue et multiacteur et l'évaluation des performances est multicritère. Nous proposons, tout d'abord, une modélisation des situations de e-maintenance en nous appuyant sur la représentation des processus et en utilisant le formalisme objet, afin de mettre en évidence les composants clés des activités de e-maintenance et l'influence des TIC. Ensuite, nous étudions les activités de décision collaborative en analysant la logique de regroupement de centres de décision, supports des décisions et nous caractérisons les ressources immatérielles engagées. Enfin, nous proposons un cadre d'évaluation des performances des activités de e-maintenance et des modèles de représentation permettant de simuler des configurations d'engagement de ces ressources et de guider les choix d'organisation afférents