Synopsis
The “extended enterprise” is a new emerging paradigm in the manufacturing arena. Indeed, global competition is pushing manufacturing enterprises in several industries either to split geographically the production capacity or to work together in supply chain organizations involving several independent entities. This dynamic is involving both big companies, whose organisation is always more and more decentralised and geographically distributed, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are embracing new organisation forms such as the Virtual Enterprise (VE) one. The “extended enterprise” allows gaining agility, reactive ness, even p- activeness, and, of course, efficiency in the highly dynamic markets of the mass customisation and knowledge based economy era. However, the “extended enterprise” paradigm scales management complexity both at the strategic and operational level up. This requires new tools for managing the complexity of the extended enterprise. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enables the possibility to create new and innovative “tools for managing the extended enterprise”. This book addresses the above introduced issue of the tools for the extended enterprise. More specifically, it presents the results of a research developed under a two years program titled “ “Distributed process and production planning in manufacturing enterprise networks” and funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) under the program PRIN2001.
Synopsis
This book addresses the 'extended enterprise' paradigm, and more specifically, the need of innovative tools for managing the operations in enterprise networks. It reports the results of a research project funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) during the period 2001-2003. The aim of the research was to design, implement and test an agent-based architecture able to support transaction, information sharing and exchange and even collaboration in a manufacturing enterprise network organized through a neutral linear e-marketplace (EM) business model. The results presented in this book testify how the proposed architecture is able to provide true value to the EM participants; and can therefore be a valid support tool for the 'extended enterprise'. This volume will be of interest to operations managers, IT specialists and supply chain managements researchers.
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