Supplier-oriented and product life cycle management framework to support virtual organisations

摘要

Throughout the Product Development Process (PDP), collaborative decision making is a key task in Virtual Organisations (VOs). This task can specifically support the interactions between Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers. The paper proposes an integrated Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) framework enabling VO and collaborative working. The proposed PLM framework is applied to enhance the evolving suppliers' role in the design process of manufacturing equipment. This framework improves the innovation abilities and technical expertise of suppliers. It also reinforces the horizontal collaboration among members of the new Global Supplier Network (GSN) and provides suppliers with an effective tool to support their collaborative processes with OEM.