The Supply Chain Automorphism from the Perspective of Metadata Ontology: An Extended Supply-Chain Operations Reference-Model

摘要

Considering the four "collaboration paradoxes" that commonly referred to, this paper introduces the automorphism theory and metadata ontology approaches into SCM. With an objective of providing a theoretical lens to show and solve the essential supply chain collaboration issues, this paper proposes the Extended Supply-Chain Operations Reference-Model (eSCOR), and its associated definitions, layers, sub-models followed by the discussions of two typical business elements: objects versus flows. Specifically, this paper confirms the supply chain automorphism within the eSCOR, and discusses its characteristics of self-symmetry as the solution to the four paradoxes mentioned before. This paper closes with insights gained from this study and extensions for future researches.