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Supply chain is a complex issue. Depending on the needs, it can be divided into different stages and different levels of details. In VIVACE WP2.5, four key components of the supply chain manufacturing workflow process at such different levels and details are supply chain, information flow, company internal logistics and manufacturing/process engineering. They are different but closely interrelated aspects. Supply chain works more on an aggregate level across all the stages. Internal logistics is more focused on detailed workings of factory production and company internal logistics systems. Process chain evaluation happens at the design stage but will have significant effects on the performance of supply chain and internal logistics. IT Infrastructure and information systems serves not only as an basis for integration of the the different activities in each of the above components but also between them.
The objective of supply chain workflow IT infrastructure requirements study is two fold, to
For the first objective, these are described for both structural and operational data requirements. For structural data requirements in turn, these have been represented by the requirements and IT infrastructure for data-driven supply chain modelling and simulation. The requirements and IT infrastructure derived may be easily adapted for other supply chain planning processes and activities. Data-driven simulation requirements and related IT infrastructure are based mainly on the prototype Supply Chain Model Builder (SCMB) developed at the University of Nottingham. The main focus is on upstream supply chain with general discussions concerning aftermarket supply chain. For operational data requirements, although operational communication and integration between companies in the supply chain is still very variable in terms of IT infrastructure and effectiveness, big efficiency rewards could come from inter-company transactional data exchange. This area is reviewed based on an analysis of existing supply chain data exchange between MTU and its partners.
In the expectation that the Extended Enterprise Collaboration Hub (EECH) will bring unprecedented supply chain collaboration capability, functional requirements for IT infrastructure were communicated to WP3.6, based on the SCMB example.
The following diagram summarises the above supply chain data requirements and related IT infrastructure.