This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 99145270, filed Dec. 22, 2010. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
The disclosure relates to a method and a system for modelling a supply chain network.
Electronic tags based on the radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology are broadly used. Existing electronic tags are usually compliant with related standards created by the EPCglobal organization, such as the electronic product code (EPC) and the EPCglobal network architecture. Information of products with electronic tags can be accessed through the EPCglobal network architecture, and former information of the products with the electronic tags can be obtained by upstream and downstream enterprises of a supply chain through an EPCglobal network. Such a system architecture is also referred to as the “Internet of things”. Today's most common electronic tag applications include animal chips, auto security chips, security control, parking lot control, production line automation, and materials management, etc. In the retail industry, electronic tags can assist in inventory control, reduce supply chain cost, reduce control and management cost, and increase the flexibility in commodity stocks dispatching, and electronic tags can also be used for tracking product distribution from manufacturers to wholesalers along with the “Internet of things” technology.
For example, when electronic tags are attached to products of upstream and downstream enterprises of a supply chain and electronic tag reader/writers are deployed at important nodes of the upstream and downstream enterprises, the upstream and downstream enterprises of the supply chain can track the products with the electronic tags, share supply chain information with each other, and automatically balance between supply and demand in real time.
Presently, we can search product records or pedigree through an EPCglobal network based on aforementioned the “Internet of things” architecture. However, an EPCgloabl alone cannot allow supply chain partners to share the supply and demand information in real time. To be specific, a “Internet of things” with a real-time supply and demand information sharing function can effectively resolve the problem of information asymmetry in a supply chain, so as to improve the quality of supply chain information, reduce the bull whip effect, and improve the efficiency of collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR). Accordingly, the order fulfillment rate of an enterprise can be effectively improved, and the inventory level of the enterprise on a supply chain can be effectively reduced. Besides, such an architecture can be served as a reference model for developing next-generation “Internet of things” systems. An “Internet of things” requires upstream and downstream enterprises to be connected through a process. Thereby, how to design a system design platform so as to provide a consistent collaborative design interface for developing “Internet of things” systems has become one of the major subjects in the industry.
A method and a system for modelling a supply chain network are introduced herein, wherein a consistent collaborative design interface is provided for developing a supply chain network system.
The disclosure provides a method for modelling a supply chain network. The present method includes defining a plurality of pilot elements, wherein each of the pilot elements includes a plurality of supply chain components. The present method also includes receiving a plurality of user inputs and generating and displaying a supply chain process according to the user inputs, wherein the supply chain process is constructed with the supply chain components of the pilot elements. The present method further includes translating the supply chain process into a supply chain network model and verifying the supply chain network model.
The disclosure provides a system for modeling a supply chain network. The present system includes a supply chain network object edit and management module, a supply chain process edit and management module, a supply chain network translation and edit module, and a supply chain network model verification module. The supply chain network object edit and management module defines a plurality of pilot elements, wherein each of the pilot elements includes a plurality of supply chain components. The supply chain process edit and management module receives a plurality of user inputs and generates and displays a supply chain process according to the user inputs, wherein the supply chain process is constructed with the supply chain components of the pilot elements. The supply chain network translation and edit module translates the supply chain process and generates a supply chain network model corresponding to the supply chain process. The supply chain network model verification module verifies the supply chain network model.
As described above, exemplary embodiments of the disclosure provide a method and a system for modeling a supply chain network, wherein the supply chain network can be effectively modelled and established.
Several exemplary embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below to further describe the disclosure in details.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide further understanding, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
In a supply chain network modelling method provided by the disclosure, a plurality of pilot elements containing a plurality of supply chain components are pre-defined, and a supply chain process is generated and displayed by using the supply chain components according to user inputs. Additionally, in the supply chain network modelling method provided by the disclosure, the supply chain process is translated into a corresponding supply chain network model, and the supply chain network model is verified. Accordingly, users on a supply chain (for example, suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers) can develop a supply chain system and ensure the accuracy of the supply chain network by using a consistent collaborative design interface. Below, an exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to accompanying drawings, so as to make advantages of the technique provided by the disclosure more apparent.
Referring to
The supply chain network object edit and management module 102 defines the pilot elements. In the present exemplary embodiment, the supply chain network object edit and management module 102 constructs an ontology for a supply chain network and defines the pilot elements and the supply chain components corresponding to each pilot element in the ontology.
Referring to
The supply chain process edit and management module 104 receives a plurality of user inputs and generates and displays a supply chain process according to the user inputs.
To be specific, a user inputs (for example, place or drag) objects derived from aforementioned supply chain components through the edit and display interface 110, so as to edit the supply chain process. Meanwhile, the supply chain process edit and management module 104 instantly generates and displays the supply chain process according to such user inputs.
The major steps for editing the supply chain process include:
Referring to
The supply chain process edit and management module 104 defines the boundaries of the supply chain process according to user inputs. For example, as shown in
The supply chain process edit and management module 104 configures corresponding objects in the supply chain process according to user inputs (for example, place and drag the objects). For example, the user can configures objects representing managers or operators (the circles marked with ‘P’ in
The supply chain process edit and management module 104 generates a material flow (as indicated by solid arrows in
During the process of configuring the objects in the supply chain process through the edit and display interface 110, when the user configures the BizStep information objects, the supply chain process edit and management module 104 identifies next step pointer (NS) of each BizStep information object. To be specific, the supply chain process is composed of a plurality of BizSteps. Thus, the step following each BizStep has to be identified to construct the entire supply chain process completely.
In addition, in an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, when the user configures an oval object, the supply chain process edit and management module 104 identifies the oval object as a location place, such as a buffer. When the user configures a rectangular object, the supply chain process edit and management module 104 identifies the rectangular object as a status place, such as the delivery state of a part or a product. When the user configures a square object, the supply chain process edit and management module 104 identifies the square object as a resource place, such as a machine or a robot. When the user configures a pentagonal object, the supply chain process edit and management module 104 identifies the pentagonal object as a kanban place.
The supply chain process edit and management module 104 identifies RFID access points (i.e., the triangular objects and n-shaped objects in
The supply chain process edit and management module 104 identifies supply chain event objects (the objects marked with ‘|EPCIS:|’ in
Referring to
For example, in the present exemplary embodiment, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 translates the supply chain process generated by the supply chain process edit and management module 104 into a Petri net-based supply chain network model. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and any type of supply chain network model can be applied in the disclosure. Particularly, in the present exemplary embodiment, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 has a process-to-Petri net conversion template and a translating engine 106a. The translating engine 106a is configured to convert the BizStep information objects in the supply chain process into corresponding Petri net structures by using the process-to-Petri net conversion template.
Referring to
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Additionally, in the present exemplary embodiment, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 identifies a token as different information according to the place of the token. For example, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 identifies a token in the location place of the supply chain process as a product, a product assembly, or a product part. Besides, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 identifies a token in the resource place of the supply chain process as a machine or a robot. Moreover, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 identifies a token in the status place of the supply chain process as a processing status of a tagged object (as shown in
In the present exemplary embodiment, the translating engine 106a categorizes and converts the BizStep information objects in the supply chain process into a plurality of subnet structures by using the process-to-Petri net conversion template. In addition, the translating engine 106a outputs the subnet structures as a Petri net-based supply chain network model.
Referring to
Then, referring to
Next, referring to
In the present exemplary embodiment, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 displays the supply chain network model generated by the translating engine 106a in the edit and display interface 110 as a circle.
Referring to
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The drivable state vector 1300 shows the number of places for triggering each activity (i.e., each of the activities T1-T5) in the supply chain network model 1100. As shown in
The output matrix 1400 shows the output place of each activity, wherein if a specific place is the output place of a specific activity, the corresponding value in the output matrix 1400 is set to 1, and if the specific place is not the output place of the specific activity, the corresponding value in the output matrix 1400 is set to 0.
The input matrix 1500 shows the input place of each activity, wherein if a specific place is the input place of a specific activity, the corresponding value in the input matrix 1500 is set to 1, and if the specific place is not the input place of the specific activity, the corresponding value in the input matrix 1500 is set to 0.
The incidence matrix 1700 is generated by deducting the input matrix 1500 from the output matrix 1400 (as expressed by following expression (1)).
A=D
+
−D
− (1)
In foregoing expression (1), A represents the incidence matrix, D+ represents the output matrix, and D− represents the input matrix.
In addition, during the initialization process, the supply chain network model verification module 108 establishes a marking table and a temporary marking table to record marking vectors during the activity process. Besides, the supply chain network model verification module 108 sets an initial marking vector 1600 (as shown in FIG. 12E) and serves the initial marking vector 1600 as the current marking vector. Herein the initial marking vector is the initial markings of all places.
After the initialization process is completed, the supply chain network model verification module 108 determines whether there is any deadlock in the supply chain network model 1100 through repeated matrix calculations. Below, how the matrix calculations are performed to detect deadlocks will be explained by taking one of the iterations as an example.
Referring to
V
FC
=D
−
×M
c (2)
In foregoing expression (2), VFC represents the firing condition vector, and MC represents the current marking vector.
After that, referring to
It should be mentioned that in a more complicated supply chain network model, multiple activities may be triggered after a specific state. In this case, the supply chain network model verification module 108 generates multiple corresponding firing control vectors.
Next, referring to
M
n
=M
c
+Au
k (3)
In foregoing expression (3), Mn represents the new marking vector, and uk represents the firing control vector.
Thereafter, the supply chain network model verification module 108 records the new marking vector and a triggering BizStep information object corresponding to the new marking vector (i.e., a corresponding activity) into both the marking table and the temporary marking table.
It should be mentioned that if no firing control vector is obtained during the current activity, the supply chain network model verification module 108 marks the current marking vector 1800 as a deadlock marking vector and records the deadlock marking vector and a key BizStep information object corresponding to the deadlock marking vector in the deadlock table. Namely, the key BizStep information object recorded in the deadlock table is a place for triggering a deadlock in the supply chain network model.
In the present exemplary embodiment, the supply chain network model verification module 108 repeatedly obtains a marking vector from the temporary marking table as the current marking vector to performed foregoing calculations. Besides, the verification of the supply chain network model is completed when there is no more marking vector in the temporary marking table.
In the present exemplary embodiment, the supply chain network model verification module 108 verifies the supply chain network model generated by the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 through foregoing deadlock diagnosis procedure and determines whether any deadlock place appears in the supply chain network model. In particular, when a deadlock place appears in the supply chain network model, the supply chain network model verification module 108 highlights (for example, indicates) the deadlock place in the supply chain network model displayed in the edit and display interface 110.
In an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the supply chain network object edit and management module 102, the supply chain process edit and management module 104, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106, the supply chain network model verification module 108, and the edit and display interface 110 are implemented as software programs. To be specific, the supply chain network modelling system 100 further includes a central processing unit (CPU) 112 and a buffer memory 114. Besides, the program codes of the supply chain network object edit and management module 102, the supply chain process edit and management module 104, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106, the supply chain network model verification module 108, and the edit and display interface 110 are loaded into the buffer memory 114 and ran by the CPU 112, so that a supply chain network modelling platform can be provided to the user.
However, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to foregoing description, and in another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the supply chain network object edit and management module 102, the supply chain process edit and management module 104, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106, the supply chain network model verification module 108, and the edit and display interface 110 may also be implemented as hardware components.
Referring to
In step S1303, the supply chain process edit and management module 104 receives user inputs through the edit and display interface 110 and generates and displays a supply chain process according to the user inputs. Herein the supply chain process is generated by using objects derived from the pilot elements and the supply chain components thereof defined in step S1301 (as shown in
In step S1305, the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 translates the supply chain process and generates a corresponding supply chain network model. As described above, the translating engine 106a of the supply chain network translation and edit module 106 converts the supply chain process into a Petri net-based supply chain network model by using a process-to-Petri net conversion template.
In step S1307, the supply chain network model verification module 108 verifies the supply chain network model. In step S1309, whether any deadlock is produced is determined. If the supply chain network model has deadlocks, the supply chain process is corrected in step S1303. If the supply chain network model has no deadlock, the entire procedure ends here.
Referring to
In step S1403, the functional blocks are converted into corresponding subnet structures according to a process-to-Petri net conversion template (as shown in
Next, in step S1405, the corresponding input places and output places in the subnet structures are merged (as shown in
Referring to
In step S1503, the supply chain network model verification module 108 establishes a marking table and a temporary marking table to record marking vectors during the activity process.
In step S1505, the supply chain network model verification module 108 sets an initial marking vector 1600 and serves the initial marking vector 1600 as a current marking vector.
In step S1507, the supply chain network model verification module 108 deducts the input matrix 1500 from the output matrix 1400 to generate an incidence matrix 1700. Steps S1501, S1503, S1505, and S1507 are referred to as initialization steps.
In step S1509, the supply chain network model verification module 108 multiplies the input matrix 1500 by the current marking vector 1800 to obtain a firing condition vector 1900.
In step S1511, the supply chain network model verification module 108 determines whether one or more firing control vectors can be obtained according to the drivable state vector 1300 and the firing condition vector 1900.
If the firing control vectors can be obtained, in step S1513, the supply chain network model verification module 108 adds the vector obtained by multiplying the firing control vector 2000 by the incidence matrix 1700 to the current marking vector 1800 to obtain a new marking vector 2100. Herein if multiple firing control vectors are obtained, the supply chain network model verification module 108 generates a new marking vector for each of the firing control vectors in step S1513.
Thereafter, in step S1515, the supply chain network model verification module 108 determines whether the new marking vector is already recorded in the marking table.
If the new marking vector is not recorded in the marking table yet, in step S1517, the supply chain network model verification module 108 records the new marking vector and a triggering BizStep information object corresponding to the new marking vector (i.e., the corresponding activity) into both the marking table and the temporary marking table. For example, the supply chain network model verification module 108 identifies the activity triggered by the new marking vector according to the output matrix 1400 and the input matrix 1500 of the supply chain network model 1100.
If no firing control vector is obtained, in step S1519, the supply chain network model verification module 108 marks the current marking vector 1800 as a deadlock marking vector, identifies the key BizStep information object corresponding to the deadlock marking vector (i.e., a corresponding activity) according to the marking table, and records the deadlock marking vector and the key BizStep information object corresponding to the deadlock marking vector in the deadlock table.
Thereafter, in step S1521, the supply chain network model verification module 108 determines whether there is no more marking vector in the temporary marking table or whether a destination marking vector is reached. Herein the destination marking vector is determined by the user.
If there are still marking vectors in the temporary marking table and the destination marking vector is not yet reached, in step S1523, the supply chain network model verification module 108 obtains a marking vector from the temporary marking table as the current marking vector and deletes the obtained marking vector from the temporary marking table. Thereafter, in step S1509, other nodes of the supply chain network model are further verified. The steps S1509, S15011, S1513, S1515, S1517, S1521, and S1523 are referred to as detection steps.
If there is no more marking vector in the temporary marking table or the destination marking vector is already reached, in step S1525, the supply chain network model verification module 108 determines whether there is any deadlock marking vector in the deadlock table.
If there are deadlock marking vectors in the deadlock table, in step S1527, the supply chain network model verification module 108 finds at least one key BizStep information object resulting in (producing) the deadlock marking vector according to the deadlock marking vector(s) and the output matrix, finds a next BizStep corresponding to the deadlock place according to the deadlock place (deadlock marking vector) and the input matrix, and highlights the deadlock place and related BizStep objects in the supply chain network object edit and management module 102. For example, the supply chain network model verification module 108 highlights the deadlock place and related BizStep information objects in the supply chain network model displayed in the edit and display interface 110. Steps S1525 and S1527 are referred to as deadlock confirmation steps.
In summary, the method and system for modeling a supply chain network provided by exemplary embodiments of the disclosure allow the upstream and downstream enterprises of a supply chain to successfully construct a supply chain network system based on a systematic platform. In particular, in an application of the “Internet of things”, the supply chain modelling method and system provided by exemplary embodiments of the disclosure can automatically define formats of event parameters and event templates for the corresponding supply chain events, so that an “Internet of things” system can be quickly established.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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99145270 | Dec 2010 | TW | national |