A Reference Architecture for the Logistics Service Map: Structuring and Composing Logistics Services in Logistics Networks

摘要

Collaborating logistics networks consist of a multitude of participants with differing systems and service description standards that are to be brought together to fulfill complex logistics services. To facilitate planning, in terms of retrieving services from subsidiary LSPs and combining them to complex composite logistics services, a logistics integrator (e.g. 4th Party Logistics Service Provider (4PL) or Lead Logistics Provider (LLP)) depends on a system that provides those functions in an integrated manner and that is capable of handling the variety of the network. The concept of the Logistics Service Map covers those requirements, but the inherent complexity and the lack in IT-know-how in smaller enterprises induces the need for developing a reference architecture to evaluate and design concrete architectures for structuring and composing logistics services. The paper develops a reference architecture for this concept with requirements from logistics use cases and evaluates it with the TARA method.