RFID BUSINESS PROCESSES
5.6 PREDICTIVE MULTI-LAYER BUSINESS PROCESS MODEL
140 RFID in the Supply Chain: A Guide to Selection and Implementation
Server is designed to detect critical operational RFID events from various devices we have talked about in previous chapters. The server helps to reduce out-of-stock situations by increasing stock visibility, and reduce shrinkage, return, and reconciliation costs by visible tracking, rotating, and allocation of the products. It also allows collaboration and sharing of data within an enterprise and with trading partners.
To improve business processes and integrate business information, the WebSphere Business Integration Server, as its name implies, does the job.
The server helps users to create business processes and integrate business information in multiple business applications across diverse platforms. It also allows the users to improve business processes in response to changes in a highly competitive market due to emerging technologies and shifts in the economy. The server comes with both preintegrated adapters and pro- cess templates. Additional information about the IBM integration servers and associated components is available in Appendix N.
Given the brief information about the technologies the METRO Group is using to improve and integrate business processes, the group is expected to reach its full maturity. The maturity will be adaptive rather than static as the METRO Group appears to be flexible in adapting to new technologies and business processes in each stage of maturity level.
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The first two stages begin in 2004–2005. Although the larger firms’
implementation of the tagging and tracking appears to be nearly with the expected timeframe, it may take longer for the medium-sized and smaller firms to catch up. Large retailers, such as Wal-Mart, gave RFID mandates to, say, 100 largest suppliers and the investments can be quite large to start the pilot study of RFID implementation.
Although the medium-sized and smaller suppliers are not mandated to comply, the number of these suppliers voluntarily complying with the RFID mandates is growing at a much slower rate. Some cannot afford the over- head of heavy investments in the RFID infrastructure. As the demand increases, the costs of tags and readers are expected to fall, making it more affordable for the medium-sized and smaller suppliers to change from bar coding to RFID technology. For these reasons, the start date for the tagging and tracking stage may be extended to 2006 and possibly the IT Integrating RFID data into the IT infrastructure stage to 2007.
The year of 2005 saw the first implementations of leveraging RFID to improve the business processes stage. It is projected to continue until 2007.
RFID technology so leveraged should support reengineering so that the larger suppliers can analyze the data from reengineered business processes and use the data to implement new business practices. For the smaller suppliers the projection should be extended to 2008 or so. The fourth stage of predictive business is scheduled to begin 2006 through 2010. This means future business processes can be predicted based on historical RFID data obtained from various implementation approaches. Therefore it is important to back up data on a periodic basis at an offsite facility.
Now let’s take a look at the Predictive Multi-Layer Business Process Model as shown in Figure 5.4. As shown in the figure, a predictive business Figure 5.3 Visual Representation of the RFID Implementation Model
Stage 1
Tagging and Tracking Stage 2
Integrating RFID Data into the IT
Infrastructure Stage 3
Leveraging RFID to improve business processes Stage 4
Predictive Business
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
142 RFID in the Supply Chain: A Guide to Selection and Implementation
process layer is added to the outermost layer of the adaptive model. Each stage of the maturity model could send feedback to any of the previous stages for further improvements before it returns to a higher layer. If the maturity level reaches the second inner layer from the core layer, it can send feedback to the core layer and repeat the process if necessary. If the maturity level reaches the third layer, it can send feedback to either the core layer or the second inner layer and repeat the process. If the maturity level reaches the fourth layer, it can send feedback to the core, the second inner or the third inner layer, and repeat the process. If the maturity level reaches the outermost layer, it can send feedback to one of the four ways: the core layer, the inner second layer, the inner third layer, or the inner fourth layer.
As the maturity level moves to the next higher layer, the business pro- cesses mature from the strategy, plan, goals, and objectives layer spelling out what business processes to achieve to the enterprise layer, and then to the predictive layer. This spells out a complex set of predictive enterprise- wide business processes that you may need to implement when you move from the pilot study to a full-scale RFID implementation based on historical RFID datathroughout the supply chain as long as the RFID benefits result in the value perceived and expected by stakeholders in predictive RFID implementation.
Figure 5.4 Predictive Multi-Layer Business Process Model
Predictive business processes Enterprise systems business processes-- external and internal Middleware,standards,
and integration tools RFID-enabled business processes
RFID technologies
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The historical data, however, can change over the years. Certain data needed in one year would be no longer needed in the following year. Some data that are considered predictive may also be used in the enterprise system business processes layer. This means the two outermost layers may overlap each other. The predictive layer may expand and the enterprise layer may become less or vice versa depending on the predicted emerging technolo- gies, metric tools used, and projected RFID investments and ROIs.