Supporting agile supply chains using a service-oriented shop floor

The globalized nature of current business environments led to the emergence of new networked enterprise organizational paradigms (supply chains, extended enterprises, virtual enterprises, collaborative networks, etc.) to meet changing requirements and tackle profitable but volatile opportunities overall agility is required.Eventually the shop floor will have to react and accommodate (re)adjustments in the supply chain making it an important piece in the competitiveness puzzle. So far, the research focus has been in high level aspects of supply chain management and the integration of shop floor activities in the process has been left relatively unattended.However, shop floor data is increasingly required in business tools that support decision making. In this context, failing to support agility at shop floor level can compromise the agility of the supply chain.Recent developments in networked information technologies and embedded devices allow enabling intelligence in shop floor rendering it an active and live entity that further enhances the dynamics of the supply chain.The goal of the present work, supported by an implemented test case in the assembly domain, is to demonstrate how one is able to seamless integrate the shop floor with external tools and achieve a highly reconfigurable environment that adapts to changing production requirements and disturbances using service-oriented technology.     

Collaborative integration in e-business through private trading exchanges (PTXs)

Collaborative integration is e-business process integration with supply chain partners such that there is a tightly-coupled collaborative relationship among all partners, deep visibility across all tiers of the supply chain, and near-real-time information exchange and knowledge sharing around supply chain processes. Enterprises seek to implement collaborative integration in order to realize the value-added benefits and cost savings of superior supply chain management, while enabling intelligent action and faster response to environmental variability. Increasingly, supply chain leaders are building private trading exchanges (PTXs) in order to more effectively enable and manage such collaborative integration. This paper examines the value proposition and the spectrum of solutions and services around collaborative integration through PTXs. The paper first identifies the challenges of collaborative integration in near-real-time supply chains. It then describes the building blocks of a PTX solution. It develops a comparative value proposition for collaborative integration. It then provides an illustrative case example from Viacore Inc. The paper ends with an examination of the future of collaborative integration in lean e-business environments.     

A framework for measuring the performance of service supply chain management

Despite the increasing attention to the service supply chain management by both practitioners and academics, the performance measurement of service supply chains still remains unexplored. Most service firms realize that, in order to evolve an efficient and effective service supply chain, service supply chain management needs to be assessed for its performance. A literature review was conducted on performance measurement issues of service supply chains. This paper develops a framework of service supply chain performance measurement. Based on the strategic, tactical and operational level performance in a service supply chain, measures and metrics are discussed. The emphasis is on performance measures dealing with service supply chain processes such as demand management, customer relationship management, supplier relationship management, capacity and resource management, service performance, information and technology management and service supply chain finance. And to prioritize service supply chain performance measurement indicators to improve service supply chain performance, a methodology based on the extent fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is stressed. The developed framework of service supply chain performance measurement is applied to the hotel supply chain. The results of this study are useful both to practitioners in the service supply chain and to researchers carrying out further studies in the field.     

Guidelines for Collaborative Supply Chain System Design and Operation

Over the past decade, firms have adopted supply chain management as a critical element of their corporate strategies. Despite these efforts, it is our observation that many firms do not realize the anticipated benefits of constructing collaborative operating relationships with supply chain partners. Our purpose in this paper is to establish a set of guiding principles for the effective design and execution of supply chain systems. These principles suggest why, what, and how collaborative relationships should be constructed.While constructing and operating a competitive supply chain is the primary objective of supply chain management, we have observed several impediments to achieving this goal. First, demand uncertainty is so substantial in most supply chain environments that if it is not adequately addressed, it can severely degrade the anticipated performance of the supply chain as measured in terms of unit cost, speed, quality, and responsiveness to changing conditions. Second, supply chains with poor physical characteristics that operate with long and variable response times cannot take full advantage of collaborative relationships due to their inability to respond to changes in the environment. Third, firms with poor information infrastructures lack the capabilities necessary to acquire, store, manipulate, and transmit data effectively and quickly. Fourth, business processes are often not designed properly, both intra- and inter-organizationally, to adapt to evolving supply chain conditions. Finally, decision support systems and operating policies that guide day-to-day operating decisions may not be adequately designed to contend with supply chain uncertainty.We also suggest that the strategic and tactical modeling paradigms employed in supply chain decision support systems are inadequate in many operational environments because of the manner in which uncertainty is treated. Furthermore, collaborative relationships that focus on reducing the uncertainty in operating environments by employing improved information systems and business processes will result in more efficient allocation of key resources, faster response times to market forces, and more reliable supply chain performance; however, these collaborative arrangements by themselves cannot compensate for fundamentally flawed and operationally ineffective manufacturing and distribution environments.     

A distributed architecture for reconfigurable control of continuous process operations

This paper considers a new distributed approach to reconfigurable control of continuous process operations such as in chemical plants. The research is set on a premise that emerging business pressures of product customization and industrial globalization will lead to increased need for reconfigurability in process plants. The ability of processes to support dynamic and smooth reorganization of process schemes in tandem with the changing requirements of supply chains will become important in future. Conventional control approaches based on hierarchical architectures are limited in dealing with such emerging requirements due to their inflexible structures and operating rules. Instead, more distributed approaches are required which can support increased level of reconfigurability in control systems, especially at the lower levels in hierarchy where the visibility to disturbances remains high. In this paper, one such distributed approach is considered based on the concepts of holonic manufacturing and supply chain management. The proposed approach distributes the functionality of process control into several reconfigurable process elements. These elements, while having a stand-alone capability for making their own control decisions, are also able to reconfigure themselves into alternative process schemes which evolve with the changing requirements of production. An analogy between process plants and so-called dynamic supply networks or virtual enterprises is used in this paper to define the composition of reconfigurable process elements and their operations. The proposed approach is shown to offer improved process control system reconfigurability and a control architecture which is compatible with the supply chain management needs at the next higher level. The purpose of this paper is qualitative and motivational. It is aimed to propose a new research direction in the field of reconfigurable process control.     

A survey on control theory applications to operational systems,supply chain management,and Industry 4.0

Modern production and logistics systems, supply chains, and Industry 4.0 networks are challenged by increased uncertainty and risks, multiple feedback cycles, and dynamics. Control theory is an interesting research avenue which contributes to further insights concerning the management of the given challenges in operations and supply chain management. In this paper, the applicability of control theory to engineering and management problems in supply chain operations is investigated. Our analysis bridges the fundamentals of control and systems theory to supply chain and operations management. This study extends our previous survey in the Annual Reviews in Control (Ivanov et al. 2012) by including new literature published in 2012–2018, identifying two new directions of control theory applications (i.e., ripple effect analysis in the supply chains and scheduling in Industry 4.0) and analysis towards the digital technology use in control theoretic models. It describes important issues and perspectives that delineate dynamics in supply chains, operations, and Industry 4.0 networks and identifies and systemizes different streams in the application of control theory to operations and supply chain management and engineering in the period from 1960–2018. It updates the existing applications and classifications, performs a critical analysis, and discusses further research avenues. Further development of interdisciplinary approaches to supply chain optimization is argued. An extended cooperation between control engineers and supply chain experts may have the potential to introduce more realism to dynamic planning and models, and improve performance in production and logistics systems, supply chains, and Industry 4.0 networks. Finally, we analyze the trends towards the intellectualization of control and its development towards supply chain control analytics.     

A computerized causal forecasting system using genetic algorithms in supply chain management

Forecasting activities are widely performed in the various areas of supply chains for predicting important supply chain management (SCM) measurements such as demand volume in order management, product quality in manufacturing processes, capacity usage in production management, traffic costs in transportation management, and so on. This paper presents a computerized system for implementing the forecasting activities required in SCM. For building a generic forecasting model applicable to SCM, a linear causal forecasting model is proposed and its coefficients are efficiently determined using the proposed genetic algorithms (GA), canonical GA and guided GA (GGA). Compared to canonical GA, GGA adopts a fitness function with penalty operators and uses population diversity index (PDI) to overcome premature convergence of the algorithm. The results obtained from two case studies show that the proposed GGA provides the best forecasting accuracy and greatly outperforms the regression analysis and canonical GA methods. A computerized system was developed to implement the forecasting functions and is successfully running in real glass manufacturing lines.     

Real-time supply chain—A blockchain architecture for project deliveries

Real-time tracking and tracing are important in providing a unified view of global supply chains consisting of several parties. This paper illustrates the needs and requirements for managing supply chains in multi-company project environments by adopting various tracking and tracing technologies. This kind of tracking and tracing is especially needed within distributed architectures engaged in project-based businesses, where several vendors are involved in a single project. Such tracking and tracing data can be used extensively to generate key performance indicators, which can be used to measure and control supply chain processes. This paper also proposes a pilot system of a cloud-based portal for real-time tracking and tracing of logistics and supply chains. This portal is formed by the combination of RFID, IoT and blockchain technology into an integrated real-time view. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and IoT (Internet of Things) provides real-time information or data, while blockchain technology is used to provide a chain of immutable transactions. The architecture of the proposed portal system is connected to transport companies, tracking devices, consolidation points and suppliers. The pilot study also illustrates the benefits and advantages of such a portal system.     

Aerospace Supply Chains as Evolutionary Networks of Activities: Innovation via Risk‐Sharing Partnerships

In the aerospace industry competitive advantage is searched through product innovation. This paper sets out to explore the effects that relationship development in the commercial aerospace supply chains have on innovation and competitive advantage. A perspective of supply chains as complex activity networks is used for data analysis based on in‐depth interviews in a global setting. Applying these concepts of supply chains as the interaction of multiple work activities assists in comprehending the forces of change. The processes of change are characterized by expansive learning processes of creating instruments for initializing, developing and sustaining these relationships. These processes take place in a terrain of complex power exercises. The long‐term effects are totally dependent on nurturing the relationships. The findings may be useful to practitioners in understanding how implementation of successful supply chain changes may come about. It promotes risk‐sharing partnerships as instruments for innovation. The paper provides evidence of changing relationships in commercial aerospace supply chains.     

基于软件代理技术的供应链协同管理

供应链是由供应商、制造商和销售商等企业部门为了进行物质材料获取、产品加工并将产品送达到最终用户的功能网络。供应链管理通过协调各种策略，控制管理供应链上各种工作流来优化供应链的运作.而优化的操作需要一种协同管理的方法。文中研究将供应链设计为由一系列智能软件代理组成的一个虚拟整体，每一个代理负责供应链上的某一项或某几项活动，代理间交互通讯完成供需活动。     

基于颜色Petri网的不确定库存模型性能仿真

供应链中由于信息传递过程中出现的信息膨胀引起牛鞭效应造成各种成本的急剧增长,为使目标函数费用最小,基于颜色Petri网建立了不同需求预测方法及库存策略的CPN模型。在订单数量等变量随机产生以及订货点等因素不确定的情况下,通过实验仿真数据确定了存储、订货及缺货费用与各种不确定变量的关系,从而确定了最优的库存策略。通过对比实验证明了该方法的有效性及正确性。     

Blockchain technology for bridging trust,traceability and transparency in circular supply chain

Trust, traceability, and transparency emerge as critical factors in designing circular blockchain platforms in supply chains. To bridge the three circular supply chain reverse processes (i.e., recycle, redistribute, remanufacture) and the three factors affecting blockchain technologies (i.e., trust, traceability, transparency), this paper proposes the integrated Triple Retry framework for designing circular blockchain platforms. A circular blockchain platform was designed in a supply chain, including manufacturer, reverse logistics service provider, selection centre, recycling centre, and landfill. The results highlight blockchain's role as a technological capability for improving control in the movement of wastes and product return management activities.     

Flexible configuration for seamless supply chains: Directions towards decision knowledge sharing

Supply chain excellence has a real huge impact on business strategy. Building supply chains (SC_s) as flexible system represents one of the most exciting opportunities to create value (e.g., seamless SC_s). This requires integrated decision making amongst autonomous chain partners with effective decision knowledge sharing among them. The key to success lies in knowing which decision has more impact on the supply chains performance. Knowledge sharing has immense potential to create expedient opportunities and thus retain greater value for supply chains. In this context, knowledge management (KM) can be used as an effective approach to achieve knowledge sharing and decision synchronization among supply chain partners. To maximize competitive advantage, concept of seamless supply chains is emerging with KM as key enabler. Thus, there is a need to develop demo models that can encourage chain members towards collaborative-knowledge sharing in the SC_s. This paper depicts the application of one such model based on decision knowledge sharing (DKS) for improved supply chains management. We study the impact of DKS (both partial and full DKS configuration in SC) and then compare the performance with information sharing (IS) and forecasting. By exploiting DKS and flexibility in supply chains structures better performance can be achieved. The paper develops the demo models on various supply chains scenario like (1st, 2nd and 3rd stage SC_s, forecasting, IS and DKS (full and partial). The partial and full DKS based flexibility configurations of SC_s are considered for simulation experimentation. A simulation model of a supply chains based on flexible framework is developed for demo purposes. The key results are highlighted along with the respective industry implications. Our research is continuing in this direction.     

Performance of supply chain collaboration – A simulation study

In the past few decades several supply chain management initiatives such as Vendor Managed Inventory, Continuous Replenishment and Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) have been proposed in literature to improve the performance of supply chains. But, identifying the benefits of collaboration is still a big challenge for many supply chains. Confusion around the optimum number of partners, investment in collaboration and duration of partnership are some of the barriers of healthy collaborative arrangements. To evolve competitive supply chain collaboration (SCC), all SC processes need to be assessed from time to time for evaluating the performance. In a growing field, performance measurement is highly indispensable in order to make continuous improvement; in a new field, it is equally important to check the performance to test conduciveness of SCC. In this research, collaborative performance measurement will act as a testing tool to identify conducive environment to collaborate, by the way of pinpointing areas requiring improvements before initializing collaboration. We use actual industrial data and simulation to help managerial decision-making on the number of collaborating partners, the level of investments and the involvement in supply chain processes. This approach will help the supply chains to obtain maximum benefit of collaborative relationships. The use of simulation for understanding the performance of SCC is relatively a new approach and this can be used by companies that are interested in collaboration without having to invest a huge sum of money in establishing the actual collaboration.     

Data envelopment analysis for a supply chain

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a method for evaluating the management efficiency of decision-making units (DMUs). This article proposes a DEA model for supply-chain management. Traditional studies focused on the selection of partners and the construction of the supply chain. Therefore, this study considers how to optimize the supply chain itself in order to maximize the benefit by DEA. In addition, a significant matter is that supply chains have sometimes unbalanced business processes. This means that some particular DMUs on the supply chain have a superiority which maintains efficiency. That is why the other DMUs on the supply chain need to operate in unfavorable conditions. As a result, their operations badly affect the total efficiency of the supply chain. Therefore, the proposed method introduces an adjustment variable to calculate the optimum operation of the supply chain. The utility and effectiveness of the proposed method are shown by numerical experiments.     

A typology of the situations of cooperation in supply chains

Pushed by globalization and its consequent increased competition, supply chain managers have understood the importance of information sharing, joint decision-making and cooperation across supply chains. Therefore, how to synchronize local activities through global processes and how to establish a collaborative supply chain relationship are actual difficulties that supply chain members have to address. In this context, this paper suggests a model of the situations of cooperation in supply chains for coping with real industrial situations, based on the analysis of the limitations of previous models. It is shown how the suggested model may allow to identify dysfunctions in the cooperation process, especially when both large and small companies are involved, and can also be used to describe and monitor the possible evolution of the cooperation process. Finally, the model may help to specify the way information should be efficiently processed all along a supply chain, depending on the situation of cooperation.     

供应链环境下安全的RFID通信协议

射频识别(RFID)技术给供应链管理带来极大的便利。安全的RFID通信协议是实现和保护基于RFID供应链系统安全性的重要方法。描述了供应链环境下RFID通信协议的安全需求,提出了一个新的供应链环境下安全的RFID通信协议。新协议具有较高的效率,且标签端的计算负荷和存储成本较低。     

On-demand e-supply chain integration: A multi-agent constraint-based approach

With e-business emerging as a key enabler to drive supply chains, the focus of supply chain management has been shifted from production efficiency to customer-driven and partnership synchronization approaches. This strategic shift depends on the match between the demands and offerings that deliver the services. To achieve this, we need to coordinate the flow of information among the services, and link their business processes under various constraints. Existing approaches to this problem have relied on complete information of services and resources, and have failed to adequately address the dynamics and uncertainties of the operating environments. The real-world situation is complicated as a result of undetermined requirements of services involved in the chain, unpredictable solutions contributed by service providers, and dynamic selection and aggregation of solutions to services. This paper examines an agent-mediated approach to on-demand e-business supply chain integration. Each agent works as a service broker, exploring individual service decisions as well as interacting with each other for achieving compatibility and coherence among the decisions of all services. Based on the framework, a prototype has been implemented with simulated experiments highlighting the effectiveness of the approach.     

A control model for object virtualization in supply chain management

Due to the emergence of the Internet of Things, supply chain control can increasingly be based on virtual objects instead of on the direct observation of physical objects. Object virtualization allows the decoupling of control activities from the handling and observing of physical products and resources. Moreover, virtual objects can be enriched with information that goes beyond human observation. This will allow for more advanced control capabilities, e.g. concerning tracking and tracing, quality monitoring and supply chain (re)planning. This paper proposes a control model for object virtualization in supply chain management, which is based on a multiple case study in the Dutch floriculture. It includes a typology of distinct mechanisms for object virtualization, which discerns reference objects and future projections next to the representation of real physical objects. The control model helps to define feasible redesign options for the virtualization of supply chain control. It is also of value as a basis to define the requirements for information systems that enable these redesign options.     

Development of Wafer Warehouse Management System for Semiconductor Manufacturing Foundry Supply Chain

Efficiency of supply chains management mostly depends on the process coordination and information integration between the supply chain companies.The well-known integrated circuit design houses,the wafer fabrication industries, and the integrated circuit packaging/testing business has together formed a contiguous supply chain from materials to system in Taiwan during the past decades.Logistic management of the wafer hence becomes the key linkage in the semiconductor foundry supply chain.The objective of this paper is to develop the wafer warehouse management system for global wafer logistics.Current operations for wafer logistics management are firstly reviewed. The system requirements are analyzed by the model-driven business transformation approach.The business operation model and the platform-independent solution architecture for the wafer logistics management are constructed.A prototype information system is also developed for validation.Results of this research can improve the effectiveness and efficiency in wafer logistics management for the semiconductor foundry supply chain.