Autor: Karl Kurbel

Managing disruptions and unplanned events in large dynamic supply networks is a difficult task. Intelligent agents and mobile technologies can help to make essential information about the flow of goods available quickly and efficiently. Through mobile access to information, decision makers are enabled to act and react faster, while some problems may be solved by agents directly. This paper describes an approach for effective Supply Chain Event Management (SCEM) using agent and mobile technologies. A peer-to-peer architecture for agent communication and access to back-office systems by agents is outlined.

This article analyzes how and to which extent ERP application modules are supported by the use of mobile technology. Features provided by ERP vendors and real-world solutions using mobile applications are presented. We discuss how the utility of ERP systems can be en-hanced through mobile components. Our investigation shows that most mobile business applications are found in the modules sales and customer service. On the other hand, ERP areas like finance, accounting and controlling do not yet exploit the potential of mobile technology significantly.