A case study of business process interoperability in a logistics supply chain environment

Abstract

In an increasingly interconnected economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are required to think about managing their business processes with a Business Process Management System (BPMS) in order to align themselves with larger companies whose activities are already governed by a BPMS. Yet today it is difficult for them to integrate a BPMS adapted to their needs with the BPMS of their business partners. This paper proposes a solution to facilitate interoperability between BPMS whose targeted enterprises differ in size. As proof of our concepts, we set up a demonstrator that visually executes a logistics supply chain scenario. Finally, we establish a list of recommendations to avoid pitfalls. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.