• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
Marzo 2005 
-
Automazione e Strumentazione -
87
networkingTECNICA
In the scope of the European Commission’s Fifth Community Research Framework Programme, at Ditf - ItvDenkendorf, new concepts, methodologies and Ict architectures for cooperation and coordination in multi-stagevalue added networks of textile and clothing industries have been developed and applied. The first part of thisarticle outlines how methods of knowledge-oriented management can support the cooperative planning ofproduction network resources and their allocation to dynamic business processes for efficiently networkedorganizations. The second part of the article reviews in particular the experiences gathered when introducing newmethods for Extended Enterprise network management, making use of process-oriented modeling of the productionnetworks, allowing for a flexible network configuration and coordination. Chapter three describes theimplementation platform used for validation of the newly developed conception and methods, which has beenconfigured and installed for several production networks of textile small and medium enterprises (Smes) as part of aEuropean research project.
Keyword:
 Dynamic manufacturing network integration, network analysisand design methodology, e-collaboration platform.
The textile and clothing companies in Europe traditionally cul-tivate a co-operative management culture along a multi-stagevalue added chain, networked horizontally and vertically, whi-ch is very similar to the Virtually Extended Enterprise para-digm. They co-operate inside of specific clusters, as well asbetween these clusters, by creating dynamic enterprisenetworks. Every textile product is therefore the result of co-operation between partners with different competences and cor-responding contributions. Taking into account today’s demandsfor complexity and diversity of goods and services, their acqui-sition and marketing, the world-wide scope of business rela-tions and the drastically shortened product life cycles, also themajority of textile companies can pursue a save way into thefuture only by adopting appropriate partnerships for concurrententerprising – within different organizational and legal forms,generally speaking in the form of dynamic networks, as a col-lective term for a variety of co-operational forms. In order toassure future competitiveness, they are forced to put into practi-ce the appropriate infrastructure in terms of state of the art con-cepts, methods and (internet-) technologies for DynamicallyNetworked and Virtual Organisations [3].Oriented at the underlying pillars of virtualisation and dynamicnetwork integration, sharing knowledge between manufactu-ring partners through appropriate integration methods andknowledge-based approaches, is the idea of introducing
 Extended Enterprise
concepts in manufacturing networks. Inorder to support knowledge-based network manufacturing ma-nagement, consequently a knowledge-based approach for reali-sation of a dynamic network integration has been developedduring the three year research project Texterm (TextileExtended Enterprise Resource Management System) [7].In this project, three typical European networks of textile com-panies located in Germany, Italy and Spain provided the appli-cation fields for the development of an e-collaboration platformfor dynamic configuration, co-ordination and monitoring of Extended Enterprises (Efikton, see Chapter III), as well as toolsand services to analyze and design Extended Enterprisenetworks, in the form of a modelling and project managementmethodology (Net Consultant, see paragraph “Proceeding andhands-on experiences of an extended enterprise network intro-duction”).The results have been developed and applied in close co-opera-tion between research institutes, software providers and indu-strial partners. During the three-year project, all networks, con-sisting of four, six, respectively 14 core companies, and theirrelationships to business partners (suppliers, customers, sub-contractors) throughout the textile major production stages asoutlined in figure 1, have been re-designed organizationally.For selected major
 Network Business Cases
the Extended
Sven-Volker Rehm, Zoi Chourmouziadou,Giacomo Copani, Andrea Rossi
Textile extended enterprisenetwork managementon e-collaboration platforms
S. Volker Rehm, Management Research Centre of the German Institutesfor Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf, Denkendorf, Germany; Z.Chourmouziadou, Dept. Erp, Diasfalisis Ltd., Athens, Greece; G. Copani,innovActing Srl, Milan Italy; A. Rossi, innovActing Srl Milan, Italy
 
88
-
Automazione e Strumentazione -
Marzo 2005 
networkingTECNICA
Enterprise concept has been implemented on the e-businesscollaboration platform developed, and with help of the develo-ped tools and services. One example is given from integrationof the confectioning stage of a large Sme Home Textilenetwork in the second paragraph (“proceeding and hands-onexperiences on extended enterprise network introduction”). Thetools and platform developed have been adapted to other indu-strial environments and have been carried out successfullywithin these other settings as well.
Knowledge-based network manufacturing management 
Within the multi-stage topology of the textile and clothing va-lue added chain (see figure 1), the challenge for management of Extended Enterprise networks evolves against the backgroundof two basic elements: Network manufacturing management onthe one hand, and knowledge-based management on the other.
 Network Manufacturing Management 
describes the challengeof planning and co-ordinating manufacturing networks. In par-ticular, the selection of available capacities and of appropriateroutes for transformation and supply processes within anExtended Enterprise manufacturing network is in the spotlight.With the help of vertical integration of program planning andscheduling, as well as with horizontal integration by co-ordi-nated networking, a Virtual Capacity and CompressionEffect is to be achieved (see figure 2). The resulting eco-nomy of time (∆T*D) can be used on the one hand, to enablea significantly shortened delivery time, e.g. in cases of re-or-dered products, or on the other hand, to start production aslate as possible when trying to hit a pre-defined delivery da-te, e.g. during quantity changes on basis of market sales fore-casts for a textile collection [5].
Knowledge-based Management 
deals in particular with thechallenge of sharing knowledge and information betweennetwork partners in an appropriate way that allows for an ef-fective and efficient coordination of the production planningtasks and related business processes inside the network. Theknowledge existing within the manufacturing network hasbeen called Net Knowledge. The knowledge addressed withthis term, is covering knowledge: about organisations, e.g.asking “Who are the right partners for collaboration?”(Organisational Knowledge); about procedu-res, “Which manufacturing services do thepartners offer?” (Procedural Knowledge);about operations, “What are the status and theactual manufacturing opportunities of thepartners?” (Operational Knowledge).These different classes of knowledge are to begathered within the manufacturing network,which is enabled by a network analysis anddesign methodology, Net Consultant. It is amethodology and project management ap-proach for identifying, gathering, analysingand designing the respective Net Knowledge.It allows to model knowledge and the respec-tively accompanying information within cer-tain model types and tables, that distinguishalso between several levels of confidentialityin between networking partners:-within the
Public Domain
, knowledge (and information) isavailable in principle to everybody, even people outsidethe network;-inside the
 Network Domain
, only network members are al-lowed to access the gathered data, which is handled by thecollaboration platform;-inside the
Corporate Domain
, there is comprised knowled-
Figure 1 - The challenge for knowledge-based co-ordination of production planningtasks in Extended Enterprise networks: knowledge-based network manufacturingmanagement (adapted from [4])Figure 2 - Virtual Capacity and Compression Effect through Dynamic Network Integration (adapted from [5])
 
Marzo 2005 
-
Automazione e Strumentazione -
89
networkingTECNICA
ge and information which shall only be accessed by closenetwork partners.These three levels of confidentiality (or domains of knowled-ge) are being analysed by the Net Consultant methodologyand shall be realised by appropriate structures of the collabo-ration platform (Efikton).Having analysed the knowledge existing in the manufactu-ring network according to the structure outlined above, it be-comes possible to (re-) design the network partners’ relation-ships according to new partnering strategies and structures:The objective of this
 Dynamic Network Integration
is, tomake partners collaborate as close as necessary, by makinguse of the appropriate processes and by exchanging the infor-mation objects containing only actually required informationwithin the actual business relation (called Network BusinessCase, see the second paragraph of this article). Three levelsfor collaboration have been defined within the
Planning Integration
methodology:-on the
 Market Interaction
level, a sales-based cooperationis envisaged, and accordingly, only product catalogues andprice lists have to be exchanged;-on
the Planning Integration
level, the partners already ha-ve experiences in collaboration, and continue a planning-based cooperation, where process and service agreementsallow for a discussion of the partner’s shop floor status andmachine allocation;-on the deepest level of integration, the
 Activity Integration
level, the actual process status of a manufacturing partneris being opened up (e.g. via the collaboration platform andan interface to the partner’s shop floor control), and its ma-nufacturing partner can actively re-schedule orders on thepartner’s shop floor.Following these methodological approaches (validated in thescope of the Texterm research project), it is possible tomethodologically introduce appropriate integration strategiesfor knowledge-based network manufacturing managementwithin newly designed Extended Enterprise networks. In thefollowing section, the task of IT support of thisconception, is considered in more detail.
 E-collaboration platforms for multi-stagemanufacturing networks
When it comes to implementation of the appro-priate integration strategies designed withinmanufacturing networks and communities, withthe goal of a proper coordination of manufactu-ring networks, the technological basis must beconsidered in detail. A network e-business col-laboration platform must fulfil three basic tasksin order to support the Dynamic Network Integration, as outlined below. The underlyingconcept followed in the research work carriedout by the authors, has been to establish a com-mon (but selective) data base allowing for pro-cess-oriented control of work flows for plan-ning (Planflows) as well as for administrationand order processes (Transflows), that enable the implemen-tation of the knowledge-oriented approach to integration stra-tegies described (see figure 3). As realisation of this ideawithin the Texterm research project, the Efikton platform hasbeen developed, which will be described in detail in ChapterIII, following three structural requirements coming from theconceptual considerations, as outnumbered below [4]:-
 Dynamic Network Configuration
: This requirement com-prises the task of situation-oriented creation of topologiesas routes across the network, with network partners as no-des for multi-stage value added processes, as well as logi-stics, Planflows and Transflows as business processesbetween these nodes.-
 Network Coordination
: The platform must be able to con-trol the coordination process between the participatingcommunity members with identification of topologies(Dynamic Network Configuration) and Decision Supportfor Network Design [6], as well as initiation, control/stee-ring and monitoring of Planflows, Transflows and perfor-mance indicators and measures.-
 Network Communication and Collaboration
: Finally, theplatform must support knowledge generation, evaluation,distribution and representation throughout the network with help of a common data base, as well as it must be ableto carry out workflow scheduling.
Proceeding and hands-on experiences of anextended enterprise network introduction
Project settings and re-engineering approach
We describe below a methodology for introduction of anExtended Enterprise network which has been developed inthe context of the European community research projectTexterm (Textile Extended Enterprise Resource ManagementSystem). The industrial partner that has been the leader dri-ving this implementation is an important Italian home textile
Figure 3 - The concept of dynamic network integration: process-orientedcoordination of manufacturing networks (adapted from [4])
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...