Kitae Shin

An integrative framework for supplier relationship management

Purpose – There have been many studies on topics related to supplier relationship management (SRM), namely purchasing strategy, supplier selection and development, and collaboration with suppliers. However, these studies have not suggested a solution based on an integrative concept, as they focus only on domain‐specific problems. To overcome this limitation, the purpose of this present paper is to suggest a framework for an integrative SRM system by analyzing comprehensive approaches to overall SRM functions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviewed and analyzed studies related to SRM from an integrative viewpoint, proposed a framework for an integrative SRM system, and performed a case study based on the analytical hierarchy process with a field survey. Findings – The paper expects that the proposed framework can play a major role in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of SRM by adopting an integrative concept because the functions of SRM are highly interrelated. Furthermore, it verifies the applicability of the framework via a case study. Research limitations/implications – Not many approaches are available for organizing evaluators or evaluation sheets, which are used for selecting criteria, providing weight, and evaluating supplier performance, that can secure objectivity of the evaluation; thus, when applying this framework to the industry, special consideration is needed. Practical implications – The proposed framework allows the purchasing members to scrutinize key features of SRM before and during the SRM system operation. Originality/value – The paper provides useful knowledge about the role of SRM systems by holistically approaching SRM‐related processes while suggesting criteria and recommendations to a purchasing manager.

A reference system for internet based inter-enterprise electronic commerce

As supply chain management and its global outsourcing are widely spread recently, many researches and development focus on integration of inter-enterprise information systems. The most important factors to achieve inter-enterprise integration are standardization and digitalization. The objectives of this work are to develop the reference model for internet based inter-enterprise electronic commerce and to implement a prototype system for its fundamental issues such as business process, information standards, and information system integration. The electronics assembly processes are chosen as the target industry. For the reference architecture of inter-enterprise electronic commerce, we also investigate intra-enterprise business processes and model them with IDEF0. The standard documents and its items are defined from analysis of traditional documents for outsourcing processes and EDI documents. For standard exchange method, web-based XML is adopted, and corresponding DTD and XSL for RFQ and Quotation are developed. In order to prove feasibility and effectiveness of the reference system a prototype system is introduced and implemented.

Business integration model with due‐date re‐negotiations

Purpose – This paper aims to enhance the responsiveness of enterprises with regard to delivery schedules in a supply chain. Based on the observations in industry, it seems that companies often re‐negotiate their due‐dates. These phenomena have begun to appear only recently, as a result of the advancements of information technology and flexibility in the supply chain. However, these due‐date re‐negotiation processes are haphazard and ad hoc in nature, and a formal process is needed to respond to market fluctuations more quickly. In this paper, a re‐negotiable order processing method is developed that can change the already‐assigned due‐dates or allow partial shipments to increase the flexibility of firm response to a rush order from a prior customer (PC).Design/methodology/approach – A due‐date re‐negotiation process is defined and a formal system for handling customer orders is proposed. The new data and business process integration model are proposed for the due‐date re‐negotiation process based on Roset...

A development methodology for e-Work ontology using RDF/RDFS and PSL

The information sources for the e-Work environment are heterogeneous and distributed, and their contents are not machine-understandable. In this article, in order to integrate the syntax and the semantics of this information, we propose a development methodology for e-Work ontology using Resource Description Framework (RDF), RDF Schema (RDFS) and Process Specification Language (PSL). In a layered architecture, we use RDF/RDFS for the data of resources and the taxonomy of the PSL-ontology terms, and we use PSL, which is represented as eXtensible Markup Language (XML), for the process and the inference of the meaning of it. In this way, we can present an integrated representation of the data and the process in the distributed environment of e-Work. We illustrate the ontology building methodology by giving an example of e-Work scenario and application procedure, which is quoted from the RosettaNet e-Business standard and concerns order management, such as quotation and purchase order. The ontology is applied to the scenario.

A Framework for Enhancing Responsiveness in Sales Order Processing System Using Web Services and Ubiquitous Computing Technologies

This study attempts to enhance the responsiveness of enterprises by adjusting the delivery dates taking into account of the production and delivery schedules in a supply chain. To enhance responsiveness, we suggest a due-date assignment method and re-negotiation process for a sales order processing system. The due-date assignment method is designed with the concept of categorized customers’ priorities and the re-negotiation process is designed with the concept of the partial delivery and due-date delay allowances. Usually, the due-dates have been considered as customer-assigned exogenous parameters or fixed endogenous variables set by manufacturers. However, those are customary in some industries, e.g. semi-conductor manufacturing, that customers often request changes for their delivery dates after placing an order if something unexpected happens. From these observations, we also propose a new architecture of responsive sales order processing system based on Web Services and Ubiquitous Computing technologies for reliable real-time information.

Efficient mapping rule of IDEF for UMM application

Various methodologies for business process analysis and design have been developed by many organizations. However, these methodologies are all uniquely developed to fit each organizations in their own ways and thuds are not compatible with each other. This poor compatibility between these methodologies incurs unnecessary analysis cost. In order to reduce this analysis cost, methods to map between the different methodologies need to be developed. UMM (UN/CEFACT Modeling Methodology) that has an object-oriented point of view can resolve the limits of the existing bottom-up approaches and make it more reasonable. It also simplifies the business and administrative procedures. IDEF (Integrated Definition Language) that has a structural point of view and is widely used as a system analysis and design method, needs to be mapped to UMM so that the existing IDEF models can be re-used. In this study, we present a guideline for procedures utilizing IDEF models from which the UMM models can be derived to develop an electronic commerce system that includes electronic documents exchange. By comparing IDEF and UMM, we analyze the differences between those two methodologies. Based on these differences, we propose basic strategies for mapping from IDEF to UMM. We also propose a mapping guideline which can be used to make suppositions of UMM results based on the modeling results of IDEF. The existing IDEF analysis/design results can be used to adopt UMM methodology for electronic business system. Therefore, with this, analysts who are familiar with the IDEF methodology can develop UMM work-flow by utilizing their existing results and skills.