پورتال زنجیره تامین الکترونیکی : مدل کسب و کار اصلی

Information technology can help to overcome the problems that plague many supply chains. Electronic exchange of information leads to reduction of errors and increased efficiency of the work processes. When one company can use the information of other companies in the supply chain, the negative effects of uncertainty can be mitigated in theory. In practice, however, the exchange of information between companies is not as easy as it seems. Many different systems and standards are used, the number of peer-to-peer relations with other companies in the network is usually too large to manage, most systems are not open for easy exchange of information with other systems, and most companies are very reluctant to share information with other companies in the first place. A portal looks like a good solution to overcome these problems. Standardized interactions with one portal are easier to manage than are many peer-to-peer relations. The portal can take the role of a trusted party. What is needed to accomplish portal effectiveness is a review of the business processes when dealing with other companies. In this paper, we advocate a radical simplification of these business processes, and provide support for the end-to-end character of the supply chain in real time. Specifically, we report on a pilot project for the US Department of Defense to create a portal for supply chain integration. The project showed the feasibility of real-time support for end-to-end supply chain management in a complex organization.

Information technology can help to overcome the uncertainties of the modern business environment. Electronic exchange of information leads to a reduction of errors and increased efficiency of the work processes. When one company can use the information of other companies in the supply chain, the negative effects of uncertainty (i.e., higher inventory levels, inaccurate forecasts, and unfulfilled orders) can, in theory, be mitigated. In practice, however, the exchange of information between companies is not as easy as it seems. Many different systems and standards are used, the number of peer-to-peer relationships with other companies in the network is usually too large to manage, and most systems are not open for easy exchange of information with other systems. Furthermore, most companies are very reluctant to share information with other companies in the first place. A portal represents a solution to overcome these problems. Standardized interactions with one portal are easier to manage than are many peer-to-peer relationships. The portal provides an organization with a single, unified database, linked across all functional systems, both within the organization and between the organization and its major supply chain partners. In this paper, the authors advocate use of the portal interface to radically simplify business processes. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate the portal’s capabilities to support the management of an end-to-end supply chain in real time. The US Department of Defense (DOD) is an organization that does business with many partners at many locations worldwide for a multitude of parts, products, and services. In a pilot project for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the authors were part of team that designed and tested a portal for supply chain integration. The project showed the feasibility of real-time support for end-to-end supply chain management in a complex organization. This paper reports on that pilot portal as well as a generalization of the learning experiences from it to industry in general.

As described in the case of the Air Force above, the use of portals as integrative supply chain architectures will surely proliferate across diverse sectors and organizations. This diffusion is already well underway as displayed in the examples in Table 1. There are clear benefits associated with such portal diffusion. Table 2 identifies benefits of a Portal from the following perspectives: User Experience, Technical, Business Logic, and Management. The e-supply chain portal allows more effective management of the supply chain by providing the necessary tools to everyone involved and allowing the links of the supply chain to work together to produce the best possible outcomes with the least manual workarounds. The best practice e-supply chain portal allows users to see and have access to the information and decision support tools required by their specific roles within the organization. It also allows users to implement plans that can be acted upon by suppliers and the distribution system to satisfy end user needs. All complex interfaces are linked through the middleware data bus. Furthermore, multi-system tasks have been reduced to single screens. The portal manages all disparate databases spread throughout the organization and links them via the data bus and a common language, so that all systems “talk” through the bus. This allows more complex, integrated decision-making than is possible with separate systems that are, in effect, islands of information. Finally, the best practice e-supply chain portal is designed to allow simple “plug” and “play” capabilities to support future software changes. If a different Advanced Planning System comes on the market and offers significant advantages over existing packages, it is easily linked to the bus taking the place of the existing software module. The system is scalable, allowing more users to be connected as required. These features substantially minimize the risk of obsolescence in system investment decisions. For all these reasons, e-supply chain portals will have persistence as core enterprise business models in the years ahead, as fundamental strategies for business survival and renewal.