Elements of a base VE infrastructure

Foreword. Preface. 1: Introduction. 1.1. Towards Next Business Models. 1.2. Some Basic Concepts. 2: New Collaborative Forms. 2.1. Overview. 2.2. VO In Industry: State Of The Art S. Alexakis, B. Kolmel, T. Heep. 2.3. Virtual Organising Scenarios B.R. Katzy, H. Loeh, Chunyan Zhang. 2.4. Emerging collaborative forms L.M. Camarinha-Matos, E. Banahan, J. Pinho de Sousa, F. Sturm, H. Afsarmanesh, J. Barata, J. Playfoot, V. Tschammer. 3: Global and Regional Research Agendas. 3.1. Overview. 3.2. Targeting major new trends L.M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh, A. Abreu. 3.3. Challenges of Collaborative Networks in Europe H. Afsarmanesh, V. Marik, L.M. Camarinha-Matos. 3.4. A challenge towards VO in Japanese industry: Industrial Cluster T. Kaihara. 3.5. Collaborative networks in Australia - Challenges and recommendations L. Nemes, J. Mo. 3.6. A Brazilian observatory on global and collaborative networked organizations R.J. Rabelo, A.A. Pereira-Klen. 3.7. Some American research concerns on VO H.T. Goranson. 4: Human, Societal, and Organizational Aspects. 4.1. Overview. 4.2. Socio-organizational challenges in the creative economy E. Banahan, J. Playfoot. 4.3. Towards Strategic Management in Collaborative network structures F. Sturm, J. Kemp, R. van Wendel de Joode. 4.4. Collaborative knowledge networks S. Evans, N. Roth. 4.5. Performance measurement and added value of networks S. Evans, N. Roth, F. Sturm. 4.6. Ethical andmoral issues facing the virtual organization S. Hawkins. 5: Information And Communication Technology Factors. 5.1. Overview. 5.2. Support infrastructures for new collaborative forms L.M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh. 5.3. Agent technology V. Marik, M. Pechoucek. 5.4. ON emerging technologies for VO L.M. Camarinha-Matos, V. Tschammer, H. Afsarmanesh. 6: Foundations and Modeling. 6.1. Overview. 6.2. Emerging behavior in complex collaborative networks L.M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh. 6.3. Formal modeling methods for collaborative networks L.M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh. 6.4. Agent technology for virtual organizations V. Marik, M. Pechoucek. 6.5. Modeling social aspects of collaborative networks A. Lucas Soares, J. Pinho de Sousa. 6.6. The organizational semiotics normative paradigm J. Filipe. 7: An Example Roadmap. 7.1. A roadmapping methodology for strategic research on VO L.M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh. 7.2. A strategic roadmap for advanced Virtual organizations L.M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh, H. Loh, F. Sturm, M. Ollus. Annexes: A.1. Authors and contributors. A.2. Method of work in thinkcreative project. Subject Index. Author Index.

Collaborative Networked Organizations: A Research Agenda for Emerging Business Models

Virtual enterprises paradigm represents an important application field for multi-agent approaches, both in terms of modeling and infrastructure development This article summarizes the main challenges in this field and describes several current Multi-Agent System application approaches. A particular emphasis is given to the creation and operation phases of the virtual enterprise life cycle. Several open challenges in this area are also introduced.

Virtual enterprise modeling and support infrastructures: applying multi-agent system approaches

A system manager tests, administers and monitors, and/or diagnoses problems with a distributed system having a plurality of computing machines. Each machine includes an event monitoring agent and the system manager comprises a data collection module (DCM), a data management module (DMM), a data storing module (DSM), and a user interface module (UIM). The DCM receives a request from the DMM describing performance data to be collected from each agent, and based on the request the DCM then collects such performance data from each agent and sends same to the DMM. The DMM stores the performance data at the DSM along with metadata corresponding to the request for current and future usage, including monitoring, analyzing and evaluation. The UIM receives requests from a user and forwards same to the DMM, and formats data from the DSM and represents the formatted data to the user.

Managing a distributed computing system

The emergence and widespread use of collaborative technologies for distributed project management has opened up opportunities for off-shore outsourcing and collaborative development. However, most tools and techniques for project management focus on on-site, long term relationships and sourcing strategies at a time when interorganizational relationships are becoming more dynamic and geographically dispersed. This paper uses grounded theory to analyze data on virtual teams’ projects. The analysis uncovers “effects” in the way in which distributed projects are managed. These effects relate to coordination, communication and adaptation to distributed electronic work environments. Following an analysis of these electronic collaboration “effects”, a model for distributed project management is presented.

The Effects of Electronic Collaboration in Distributed Project Management

In this work the supply–chain coordination in the virtual enterprise environment is subject of analysis. The system developed by UFSC-DBPMS—for the management of distributed business process is presented and some basic concepts for its definition and development are detailed. The DBPMS provides means for getting, analyzing, making available and managing the information from and about a virtual enterprise, enabling the enterprises to make their logistics more efficiently by means of an integrated information-based supply-chain management. All the work presented in this paper was developed within the scope of the ESPRIT project PRODNET-II (production planning and management in an extended enterprise).

Managing distributed business processes in the virtual enterprise

Following the ARCON modeling framework, a comprehensive set of concepts and entities, covering both the Endogenous Elements and Exogenous Interactions perspectives of collaborative networks, are collected and defined. Such collection represents a first proposal for a reference model for collaborative networks. The establishment of a recognized reference model is certainly a long-term activity of which this work represents a first step.

ARCON reference models for collaborative networks

This paper describes a multi-agenl decision support system called SC (Supply Chain Smart Coordination) thnt aims at offering an integrated environmenl to better manage dynamic supply chains by covering the production, distribution and sales chains. Reliable, timely and interoperable information are exchanged amang the supply chain members in XML by means of a worliflow­ driven and CORBA -based platform, supporting the user in smart decision­ making. This work has been developed in the scope of the 1ST DAMASCOS project, focusing on the fashion supply chains of SMEs. The geneml problem and framework are described, and some results are shown and discussed.

/pdf/a-multi-agent-system-for-smart-coordination-of-dynamic-4vs94n35xw.pdf

A Multi-Agent System for Smart Coordination of Dynamic Supply Chains

This chapter presents an effort to extend the intra-organizational logistics carried out by the classical PPC systems, with a higher level vision of the Virtual Enterprise’s (VE) logistics, giving rise to an inter-organizational logistics. Getting, analyzing, making available and managing the information from and about a VE as well as enabling the enterprises to make their logistics more efficiently, are the roles of the advanced coordination functionality called “logistics support” which has been implemented in the “Distributed Business Process Management System”.

/pdf/distributed-business-process-management-w5sksuuydo.pdf

Distributed Business Process Management

In a Virtual Enterprise scenario the management of the supply-chain is a complex task, especially when some degrees of flexibility are envisaged to be supported. This paper intends to show an approach to improve the quality of this management in order to avoid business chaos. More preciselly, it is introduced a set of specialized software modules named Advanced Coordination Functionalities (ACFs), which take end-user feedback into account to solve important problems during coordination actions within the VE scenario. The study of ACFs is motivated and required by the Prodnet-II ESPRIT project.

/pdf/high-level-coordination-of-business-processes-in-a-virtual-2q24wp5tgz.pdf

Alexandra A. Pereira Klen

Papers

Managing distributed business processes in the virtual enterprise

ARCON reference models for collaborative networks

A Multi-Agent System for Smart Coordination of Dynamic Supply Chains

Distributed Business Process Management

High-Level Coordination of Business Processes in a Virtual Enterprise