Supply Chain Management

The necessity to gain detailed knowledge about existing business processes is increasing continuously along with the complexity of the supply networks. The centre of the approach is therefore the modelling of inter-company business processes. Starting from the current requirements of the industry, the article describes a modelling method, which satisfies these demands while considering the supply feasibility. The presented modelling method is specified in the context of inter-company process controlling. Keywords:

Quantity flexibility contracts are a prevalent medium in industrial practice aiming at reducing demand and inventory risks with increased fill rates and higher responsiveness. Meanwhile researchers have proved the advantage of such contracts by simulation models. But it still lacks tangible methods for estimating negotiable costs and also for implementation on operational level. Against this background a software supported tool will be presented closing the gaps in scientific formulation of flexibility oriented contract clauses. Furthermore the tool enables an efficient display of additional costs and gives hints for the parameterisation of ERP-(Enterprise Resource Planning)-systems.

Production and logistics networks are distinguished by a permanently growing complexity and are nowadays more than ever forced to adapt fast to dynamically changing markets. These and other factors make an enterprise-spreading production planning and control more difficult. A new, promising approach is to take advantage of synchronisation phenomena in such dynamical systems. The production of individual enterprises in the network has to be synchronised on the basis of technical and physical aspects in order to render the whole network more efficient and more productive.

Planning and organising of value added processes can be optimized by supply chain management. Therefore, creating a virtual supply chain organization (VISCO) is suggested. The main tasks are building up a specific organization for the collaboration, applying modern information and communication technologies, and implementing innovative logistics systems in the VISCO. Furthermore, it is necessary to harmonize the different plans of the companies involved. With the help of a special value added management in the VISCO it is possible to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the value added process significantly.

The answer to engineering change and event management within a supplier network is collaborative ramp-up management, because it achieves transparency and defined structures in the ramp-up planning and steering processes. The usage of the ramp-up demonstrator, developed by the IML, simplifies the serial start-up within a supplier network. The ramp-up demonstrator is a combination of order-to-delivery simulation and current workflow management concepts, by which a controllable and plannable ramp-up environment is achieved.

Most supply chain controlling approaches found in literature still focus on a single company instead of an entire net and thus do not live up to their promises. This article points out several problems that require the transition to the bird’s eye view and briefly introduces concepts that are truly inter-organizational in their nature. We close with a critical evaluation of what has been achieved in this field.