Integration Issues in Virtual Enterprises supported by an Architectural Framework Arian Zwegers1a, Matti Hannus2, Martin Tølle3 1 Baan, Barneveld, Netherlands 2 VTT Building Technology, Espoo, Finland 3 Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark a Corresponding Author, [email protected]

Abstract Nowadays, enterprises cooperate more extensively with other enterprises during the entire product life cycle. Temporary alliances between various enterprises emerge such as those in Virtual Enterprises. However, many enterprises experience difficulties in the formation and operation of virtual enterprises, especially concerning integration issues. This paper lays down an architectural framework, called VERAM, which aims to support the set-up and operation of virtual enterprises. Five different levels of integration are identified. They should all be addressed during the formation of a virtual enterprise. It is shown that the architectural framework supports integration of various levels. Keywords: Virtual enterprises, architectural framework, VERAM, integration, VE applications, GLOBEMEN

1 INTRODUCTION One of the trends in the global market is the fact that enterprises cooperate more extensively with other enterprises during the entire product life cycle. This is related to business drivers, such as the need for cost reduction, flexibility, focus on core competencies, and so on. The result is anything from a rather stable alliance between partners as in a supply chain to a more transitory cooperation as in a Virtual Enterprise (VE). The latter can be defined as a temporary alliance of enterprises that come together to share skills or core competencies and resources in order to better respond to business opportunities, and whose cooperation is supported by information and communication technology (ICT) [1]. When the customers demand has been fulfilled, the virtual enterprise dissolves [2]. The objective of this paper is to lay down a foundation for future applications to support the set-up and operation of VEs. It is an intermediate result of ongoing work on the definition of an architectural framework for virtual enterprise engineering, as part of IMS project GLOBEMEN (IMS99004) [3]. The project focuses on one-of-a-kindproduction (OKP) and aims to organise knowledge about the formation and operation of virtual enterprises. The framework that organises all this knowledge is called VERAM – Virtual Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology and is a VE specialisation of GERAM [4]. This paper is organised as follows. The next section explains the concept of virtual enterprises, the five identified levels of integration, and the need for an architectural framework for VE engineering. In section 3, the VERAM architectural framework is presented. Each of the components in the framework is subsequently presented in more detail. A discussion concludes this paper.

2

VIRTUAL ENTERPRISES

2.1 Definitions A Virtual Enterprise can briefly be characterised as an inter-enterprise business cooperation where individual enterprises join core competencies in order to establish a value chain configured exactly to meet a specific customer demand. When the customer demand has been fulfilled, the Virtual Enterprise is decommissioned. The Virtual Enterprise is therefore highly agile compared to conventional, rigid supply chains. Essentially, a Virtual Enterprise can be considered as a means to achieve economy of scale advantages for knowledge based core competencies [2]. An (Enterprise) Network is considered as the basis for preparing and setting up Virtual Enterprises. This idea is illustrated in Figure 1. One enterprise, a group of enterprises or alternatively a large customer, who can be perceived as the business concept owner, initiates the creation of the Network. The members of a Network prepare for potential future VEs by mutual agreement on common standards, procedures, and ICT, and by the assignment of core competencies to the Network. At the point of a customer demand addressing a member enterprise of the Network, a Virtual Enterprise is formed based on the core competencies and capabilities available in the Network. Additional competencies from suppliers or local subcontractors may be included. Once the Virtual Enterprise has produced and delivered the product or service, it is dissolved. Competencies and experiences gained in the Virtual Enterprise are transferred back to the participants [2]. The main focus in this view is the creation of a Network and Virtual Enterprises, including the underlying integration between the partners and the sharing of information and knowledge through the use of ICT.

Network Competencies

Virtual Enterprise B

Customer B

Virtual Enterprise A

Suppliers

Customer A

Suppliers

Figure 1 Enterprise Network and Virtual Enterprises Therefore, Virtual Enterprises typically imply a high degree of inter-enterprise integration at business and application level. Network In a VE context, a Network is a co-operative alliance of enterprises established to jointly exploit business opportunities through setting up Virtual Enterprises. The main purpose of a Network is to prepare and manage the life cycle of VEs and to prepare product life cycles. Thus, the Network is to be seen as a potential from which different VEs can be established in order to satisfy diverse customer demands. The Network will seek out and await customer demands, and when a specific customer demand is identified the business potential is realised by forming a VE. Accordingly, compared to a Virtual Enterprise, a Network can be perceived as a relatively long-term cooperation since it typically sets up multiple VEs. Conversely, the VEs have a more temporary nature. A Network is principally created based on core competencies and capabilities assigned from different cooperating partners. The Network can therefore be characterised as a portfolio of core competencies that are available to realise VEs and products. This competence portfolio is dynamic in the sense that competencies can leave and join the Network. In addition, a Network can be characterised as a product-oriented Network focusing on the strategically important, value adding partner competencies in the potential VEs, while typically excluding off-the-shelf suppliers [2]. The role of a Network is to prepare the set-up and operation of Virtual Enterprises. It establishes mutual agreements among its members on issues such as common standards, procedures, IPR, and ICT, so that these time-consuming preparations can be significantly shortened when a customer request arises, and a VE is put in place. Virtual Enterprise (VE) A Virtual Enterprise is a temporary alliance of enterprises that come together to share skills or core competencies and resources in order to better respond to a business opportunity, and whose cooperation is supported by ICT (derived from [1]). Formation of the VE materialises through configuration of the core competencies and capabilities available in the Network and possibly through inclusion of additional, required competencies provided by non-Network participants, cf. Figure 1. Though being comprised by competencies from various partners, the VE performs as one, unified, and attuned enterprise. Hence its virtual nature. Accordingly, the business processes are not carried out by a single enterprise, but every enterprise is a node in the VE that adds some value to the product chain. It is important to note that the work of the Network

and VEs is actually executed by the participating enterprises and not as such by the Network or the VEs. In short, a Virtual Enterprise can be defined as a customer solutions delivery system created by a temporary and reconfigurable ICT enabled aggregation of core competencies [2]. Through the configuration of the necessary and adequate core competencies, the VE realises the business potential of the Network. When the customer demand has been fulfilled, the Virtual Enterprise dissolves into constituent parts to reassemble into other configurations (other VEs). A distinct characteristic of a Virtual Enterprise is that it is enabled by ICT. 2.2 Integration issues ALIVE – Architecture for Layered Integration in Virtual Enterprises – has been developed within GLOBEMEN to identify different levels of integration. Figure 2 represents the different levels of integration as distinguished in ALIVE. According to this model, satisfactory integration at a lower level is necessary before integration at a higher level can be achieved. Over the years, the higher levels of integration have become more important. Until recently, integration typically concerned two given systems within two given units within one organisation. The aim was to share specific data and applications for given purposes in fairly stable business processes. Realisation of VEs, however, requires integration at the highest level. Each of the ALIVE levels of integration is described below, starting from the bottom [2]. Physical integration Naturally, physical integration is needed to facilitate cooperating applications and enterprises. Recently wireless integration has rapidly grown in importance. Relevant standards at this level of integration are WAP, MAP, and Ethernet. Syntactic application integration Application integration, which affects the control of applications, is concerned with the usage of ICT to provide interoperation between enterprise resources. Cooperation between humans, machines and software programs has to be established by the supply of information through interand intra-system communication. In ALIVE, application integration is split in two parts. Whereas semantic standards support integration at the level of ‘meaning’, syntactic standards are meant for

Inter-enterprise coordination

Business process integration

Semantic application integration

Syntactic application integration

Physical integration Figure 2 ALIVE levels of integration

integration at the level of ‘form’. Syntactic standards enable sources and messages to have similar formats. Standards in this area are STEP Part 21, Java RMI, XML, Corba, and DCOM. Semantic application integration The highest level of application integration is semantic application integration. This should result in a situation where the output of applications is meaningful to other applications. This type of integration abstracts from the technical details of software implementations. Examples of standards at this level are EDIFACT, STEP Application Protocols, RosettaNet, and BizTalk. Business process integration Integration in virtual enterprises requires a common understanding about shared business processes. Modelling languages are needed to make these business processes explicit. Main areas are modelling of data and modelling of processes. Examples of well-known modelling languages are IDEF, Petri nets, UML, ER, LOTOS, SDL, VDM, Z, and χ. Inter-enterprise coordination The highest integration level is specific for supply chains and virtual enterprises, in short for all situations in which enterprises cooperate with other enterprises and coordination is needed beyond their boundaries. This level concerns the coordination among enterprises. Dedicated guidelines for inter-enterprise coordination are needed, e.g. for partner selection, certification, interenterprise best practice definition, and so on. 2.3 Need for an architectural framework Several problems frequently occur during the set-up, operation, and reconfiguration of virtual enterprises. Different levels of integration have to be considered. A number of viewpoints must be taken into account; not only the technical view, but also – for instance – the economic and legal points of view have to be taken into consideration. Generally, virtual enterprises are quite complex, and their set-up and operation is often quite expensive and risky. The information systems, business processes, and procedures of existing companies – i.e. the members of the virtual enterprise – have to be considered in the design process, so that the members can interact in a proper way. The activities performed during each phase of the life cycle are essentially derived from ad hoc procedures, so that the quality of the resultant VE will depend considerably upon the experience of the persons and companies involved. The problem is accentuated due to a low level of formalism with which those activities are usually carried out. This often leads to solutions that do not adequately address business requirements, lack of traceability of design decisions, low repeatability of successful results, and so on. This paper offers handles and a framework that contribute to solving the problems mentioned above, and with which an individual enterprise might operate and set up a virtual enterprise from a dynamic, inter-enterprise network. The aim is to organise knowledge about the formation and operation of virtual enterprises. A large part of the procedures, tools, and methods used is in fact similar and common every time a VE is set-up or operated. This part could be formalised and re-used instead of figuring out every time what tools or methods to use, and developing some parts again from scratch. In addition to a more time and cost-effective operation of the VE, it is expected that the set-up of the VE from a network would become faster

and more efficient. Therefore, an architectural framework is needed that organises all this knowledge. The above implies that the architectural framework contains tools, methods, applications, and so on, on a generalised level, i.e. these tools, methods, and applications are not focused on one specific virtual enterprise or instance of a network. Rather, it focuses on generic knowledge, which is applicable in many, specific situations. Another implication is that the focus is on an enterprise, and on the tools, methods, and so on, which an enterprise can use to participate in one or more network and VEs. The enterprise in a network or virtual enterprise is explicitly distinguished. 3

ARCHITECTURAL FRAMEWORK FOR VIRTUAL ENTERPRISE ENGINEERING The purpose of the architectural framework is to structure a body of knowledge that supports future work in the area of global engineering and manufacturing in enterprise networks. As mentioned before, a part of this knowledge is in fact similar and common every time a VE is set-up or operated, and could be standardised and re-used. The architectural framework positions elements that support modelling, formation/set up, management and ICT support of VEs, such as reference models, and supporting tools and infrastructures. Interrelations among these elements are indicated. This framework, which is called VERAM – Virtual Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology, is a specialisation of the GERAM framework (Generalised Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology [4]), focused on virtual enterprise formation and operation. Figure 3 shows the VERAM framework. Please note that VERAM is about those tools, applications, models, and so on, that can be used during the formation and operation of VEs and networks. In addition, guidelines for how these tools, applications, and models should be used in practice are needed. Therefore, VERAM includes a methodology (cf. Figure 3), which describes how an organisation should use the various components of the architectural framework during virtual enterprise engineering. This methodology is not part of this paper. 3.1 Virtual Enterprise Ontology An ontology is an agreed (and formal) description of shared concepts in some domain which has the objective of enabling shared understanding and communication. Ontologies represent a new technology with the purpose to improve electronic information organisation, management, and understanding. An ontology is a conceptual information model that describes “the things that exist” in a domain: concepts, properties, facts, rules and relationships. An ontology acts as a standardised reference model to support information integration and knowledge sharing. The role of ontologies is twofold: (i) they support human understanding and organisational communication; (ii) they are machine-processable and thus facilitate content-based access, communication and integration across different information systems [5]. Here, the first role is most important. Virtual Enterprise Concepts The VE Concepts define the virtual enterprise related general concepts recommended for use in VE engineering and integration projects. For example, concepts such as ‘Virtual Enterprise’, ‘Network’, ‘life cycle’, and so on are

VE ontology

Technologies, standards, guides VE reference architecture

VE concepts

VERAM:

Standards for VEs

Implementation methods

Technologies

Modelling

Re-usable knowledge for VEs

Applications & infrastructures

Modelling Languages

Modelling methodology

Enterprise applications

Modelling tools

VE infrastructure modules

Guidelines

Methodology VE implementation

Particular level

VE configuration tools

VE Reference Models

Particular VE Models

VE in business operation

Operational ICT environment for VE

Figure 3 VERAM – Virtual Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology defined by means of a glossary. Other concepts can be categorised as: •

Human oriented concepts to describe the role of humans as an integral part of the organisation and operation of an enterprise, and to support humans during enterprise design, construction and change.



Process oriented concepts for the description of the business processes of the (virtual) enterprise;



Technology oriented concepts for the description of the business process supporting technology involved in both (virtual) enterprise operation and engineering efforts (modelling and model use support) [4].

VERA can be found in [6]. 3.2 Modelling VERAM’s modelling part allows enterprises to analyse and re-design the business processes of a VE. During the formation of a VE, but also during reconfiguration of an existing VE, enterprises may acquire knowledge of current business processes by means of modelling. This knowledge is needed in order to analyse the existing processes and communicate about them. Then, the models may be changed to take required modifications into account. The definition of sound business processes, upon which the further design or selection of needed ICT tools and applications is based, is one of the keys to business process integration. Cooperation in virtual enterprises requires that a common understanding exists about shared business processes. Modelling languages are needed to make these business processes explicit. Main areas are modelling of data and modelling of processes.

Virtual Enterprise Reference Architecture The Virtual Enterprise Reference Architecture (VERA), which is also based upon GERAM concepts [4], organises the virtual enterprise related concepts recommended for use in virtual enterprise engineering and integration projects (see Figure 4). Whereas the previous component defines the various concepts, VERA organises them. Essentially, VERA provides a structural arrangement of virtual enterprise subject matters such as VE reference models and standards. A more elaborated description of

Modelling Languages (Enterprise) Modelling Languages define the generic modelling constructs for (enterprise) modelling adapted to

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Subdivision according to genericity

Resource Organisation Information Function

Identification

Life cycle phases

Concept Requirements Prelim. design Detailed design Implementation Operation Decommission

Enterprise

Network

VE

Product

Figure 4 VERA – Virtual Enterprise Reference Architecture

the needs of people creating and using enterprise models. In particular, enterprise modelling languages provide constructs to describe and model human roles, operational processes and their functional contents [4]. The main classes of modelling languages are [7]: •

Process modelling languages, such as SADT, OMT, Petrinets



Data modelling languages, such Relationship Modelling, Express

typical (virtual) enterprise. They may concern various enterprise entities such as products, projects, companies, and may represent these from various points of view such as data models, process models, and organisation models. The GLOBEMEN Reference Model focuses on the processes executed by an enterprise related to:

Entity-



participation in / management of an enterprise network,



Process and data modelling languages, such as IDEF, UML Most enterprise modelling languages are generally applicable to inter-enterprise modelling as well but may require a specific modelling style in order to distinguish intra- and inter-enterprise issues.



formation of a virtual enterprise, and

Modelling Methodology Modelling Methodologies support the modelling process by means of guidelines, which guide a user in making models. Modelling Methodologies are usually related to a specific Modelling Language and may be ‘embedded’ in a Modelling Tool.

3.3 Technologies, Standards, and Guides VERAM’s Technologies, Standards, and Guides section contains those factors that affect the way a VE is put into operation. It contains a rather broad set, ranging from technologies to legal aspects. Some of these factors will lead to different contingencies in the VE formation, other factors will lead to different VE implementations.

as

Modelling Tools Modelling Tools support the processes of enterprise engineering and integration by supporting modelling languages. Frequently, a kind of engineering methodology is implemented in a modelling tool as well. Modelling tools should provide for analysis, design and use of enterprise models. Numerous modelling tools are available that support IDEF or UML modelling. In addition, well-known enterprise engineering tools exist, such as DEM [8] and ARIS. VE Reference Models Reference Models (or Partial Models) capture characteristics that are common to many (virtual) enterprises within or across one or more industrial sectors. Thereby, these models capitalise on previous knowledge by allowing model libraries to be developed and reused in a ‘plug-and-play’ manner rather than developing the particular (VE) models from scratch. Reference models make the modelling process more efficient. The scope of these models extends to all possible components of the enterprise such as models of human roles (skills and competencies of humans in enterprise operation and management), and operational processes (functionality and behaviour). Some authors consider models of technology components (service or manufacturing oriented), and infrastructure components (information technology, energy, services, etc.) to be part of reference models as well. However, in VERAM the latter two are positioned in Enterprise Applications and VE Infrastructure Modules respectively. Reference models may cover the whole or a part of a

Process models

Use cases

• operation in a virtual enterprise Figure 5 shows that the GLOBEMEN Reference Model consists of various types of models, ranging from IDEF0 process models to UML implementation diagrams.

Standards for VEs Standards for VEs comprise standards for aspects such as legal issues, security issues, trust issues, and so on. These determine to a large extent the contingencies that define how a virtual enterprise will be put into operation, and thereby affect the VE Reference Models. Technologies Technologies enable the realisation of enterprise applications and infrastructure components, and thereby enable but in a sense also restrict the execution of business processes. Examples of relevant technologies are communication standards, integration technology, and collaboration technology. Implementation Methods Implementation Methods define how an individual enterprise might use available technologies to define its Enterprise Applications and VE Infrastructure Modules to support the formation and operation of VEs and interenterprise networks. 3.4 Applications and Infrastructure VERAM’s Applications and Infrastructure section contains the components that perform or support the business processes as described in the Modelling section. As such, they provide the (technological) realisation of these business processes, enabled by the technology as defined in the Technologies, Standards, and Guides section. These Applications and Infrastructure Modules concentrate on the execution or support of the formation or operation of virtual enterprises and networks.

Classes & components

Sequence diagrams

Interface & app. specification

INTERFACE

Figure 5 Types of models in the GLOBEMEN Reference Model

VE Configuration Tools VE Configuration Tools are used to set up virtual enterprises. Different types of configuration tools may be identified such as platform configuration tools, project configuration tools, and contract configuration tools. These tools aim to set up a virtual enterprise quickly, based on proven business models, applications, and platforms. They use VE Reference Models, and define a configuration of Enterprise Applications and VE Infrastructure Modules. Enterprise Applications Enterprise Applications are either standard, commercial off-the-shelf systems or bespoke solutions, developed for a particular enterprise. In this context, we focus on the functionality provided by Enterprise Applications to join and/or set up a network, and to form and/or operate a virtual enterprise. Examples are applications for consortium definition support, distributed engineering, subcontracting, internal trade, certain knowledge management functions, and so on. Enterprise Applications provide (parts of) the functionality that is outlined in the VE Reference Models. Therefore, mappings can be made between Enterprise Applications and VE Reference Models. In other words, the mappings indicate what business processes as defined in VE Reference Models are covered by what (standard, off-theshelf, home-grown) Enterprise Applications. VE Infrastructure Modules VE Infrastructure Modules are used to enhance Enterprise Applications with VE specific functionality. An explicit distinction is made between an Enterprise Application and the enabling technology offered by an infrastructure upon which the Enterprise Application resides. If certain technologies are chosen for the Enterprise Applications to implement certain functions, some additional technology (i.e. its functionality is not defined in VE Reference Models) might be needed to enable a proper functioning of the first technologies. VE Infrastructure Modules thereby enable the execution of VE processes by Enterprise Applications. 4 DISCUSSION The discussion focuses on how the VERAM framework as described above can be used for the integration of different enterprises into a virtual enterprise. The five identified levels of integration according to ALIVE are addressed. Regarding physical integration, VERAM follows the technology standards as identified in the Technologies box. Examples of standards are TCP/IP and WAP. Application integration is achieved by having standardised interfaces between the applications of different enterprises. For instance, BizTalk could be selected as the ‘lingua franca’, and XML as the alphabet in a virtual enterprise. Then all members have to adhere to this standard. The enterprise applications of a member has to communicate with the enterprise applications of other members by means of BizTalk and XML. Possibly, this member needs specific integration technology to transform the proprietary format of its applications into XML and vice versa. Clearly, the Applications and Infrastructures part of VERAM deal with inter-enterprise application integration. VERAM’s Modelling part is concerned with business process integration. Even if cooperating enterprises speak

the same language, they may not understand each other because for instance one enterprise is inquiring about apples whereas the other is responding about oranges. In other words, their business processes are not aligned. Modelling interactions between members in a virtual enterprise – for example by means of UML sequence diagrams – is an appropriate tool to define and analyse aligned business processes. The internal processes do not have to be modelled; just the business processes at the interface. Inter-enterprise coordination is probably the most difficult type of integration. VERAM supports inter-enterprise coordination by VE Configuration Tools and VE Reference Models. However, specific guidelines for partner selection are missing, just like guidelines for issues of trust and confidence. As stated before, VERAM is part of ongoing work within GLOBEMEN. Not all pieces of VERAM are filled in at the moment. Current research focuses on VE Reference Models, Enterprise Applications, VE Infrastructure Modules, and inter-enterprise coordination. Perhaps even more important is the definition of a methodology or a set of adequate guidelines with which an individual enterprise might use VERAM to define particular VE models, choose or build its Enterprise Applications and Operational ICT Environment, and put a virtual enterprise into operation. 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We acknowledge the contributions of GLOBEMEN partners. We thank the IMS program for enabling the GLOBEMEN project and the European Commission for financial support via the IST program. 6 REFERENCES [1] Camarinha-Matos L.M., Trends in Virtual Enterprise Infrastructures, New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, 2000. [2] Berg R. van den, Hannus M., Pedersen J.D., Tølle M., Zwegers A., Evaluation of state of the art technologies, GLOBEMEN EU deliverable D411, 2000. [3] GLOBEMEN, Global Engineering and Manufacturing in Enterprise Networks. Research project 2000-2002. IMS 99004, IST-1999-60002. http://globemen.vtt.fi [4] IFAC/IFIP Task Force on Architectures for Enterprise Integration, GERAM: Generalised Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology, ISO/DIS15704, 1999. (available to download from http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~bernus/taskforce/geram/ve rsions/geram1-6-3/v1.6.3.html) [5] Akkermans H., What Are Ontologies? – An Executive Summary. Unpublished document, 2001. [6] Vesterager J., Bernus P., Pedersen J.D., Tølle M., The what and why of a Virtual Enterprise Reference Architecture, Proceedings of the eBusiness and eWork conference, Venice (I), 2001. [7] Jambak M.I., Design of Information Architecture for Supporting Machining of Prismatic Components in the Automated Flexible Manufacturing System, MSc Thesis Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2000. [8] Boudens G., Unambiguous definition of the business control model in the dynamic enterprise modeler (in Dutch), MSc Thesis Eindhoven University of Technology, 1997.

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