An Innovative Framework Supporting SME Networks for Complex Product Manufacturing

Abstract

International audienceCurrent market dynamics require European SME's to focus on complex products manufacturing and to build non-hierarchical business networks, to assure competitiveness and sustainability. Such trend demands appropriate methods for network formation and management, including reference collaboration processes and supporting ICT tools. This paper presents a framework to support SME's in the creation and management of non-hierarchical networks designed and developed within the European RTD project Net-Challenge. This framework includes methodologies, processes and ICT decision support tools aiming at the efficient creation and management of these networks assuring quick response times and competitive and differentiated offerings

ICT-based solution approach for collaborative delivery of customised products

“…Iskanius et al (2009) highlighted an ICT-based solution deploying agent technology to integrate dispersed companies and customers to ensure that all the members of the network receive accurate and timely information. Carneiro et al (2010) proposed an ICTbased dynamic framework to form and execute non-hierarchical business networks to assure competitiveness and sustainability. The ICT-enabled framework as presented in this paper highlights mainly the formation of virtual organization that supports not only non-hierarchical business collaboration among industries (mostly SMEs), but also help to develop true customized product known as 'one-of-a-kind' product.…”

Information Technology in Small Medium Enterprise

“…Equally obvious is also the diversity of the role and weight that innovation and investment in IT-intensive sectors, play in skilled labor and technology. In this sense, then, it is clear the interest and utility to monitor the reality of SMEs and their approach to IT [4], [5], [6], [16], [17].…”

Virtual Enterprise Process Management: An Application to Industrial Maintenance

“…When a robust worldwide operation network need to be set-up, the use of virtual enterprise platforms can be a rather valuable enabling technology for formation, management, adaptation and monitoring of the dynamic collaborative processes [13]. There are various forms of business collaboration such as business community, industrial cluster, collaborative network organization (CNO) [1], virtual organization (VO), [3] and virtual enterprise (VE) [4].In such business environment, there is always the need to continuously monitor and manage the underlying business processes, as discussed in this paper. This paper is organized in 5 sections and presents the results of a research that was carried out in four main steps.…”