Integration of Concurrent Engineering Business Processes via Service Oriented Architectures in the Virtual Enterprise

The paper will present results of the NETFRAME project (GRD1-200140435): “establishing a documented framework for on-line concurrent engineering and cooperation between large industrial auto and aeronautical companies and its suppliers”. Within the scope of the EU funded GROWTH-project a comprehensive set of methods and tools is developed to support the improvement of the industrial concurrent engineering (CE) process in the virtual enterprise from both sides, industrial auto and aeronautical companies as well as SMEs serving as suppliers to the OEMs. To identify the state-of-the-art and key requirements within the concurrent engineering process an analysis was carried out to clearly outline the business scenario as well as the ICT architectures installed. Based on this, the project summarised the business and technical objectives as well as constraints imposed upon the required technological target architecture to seamlessly support the flow of manufacturing information between the diverse entities in this cooperation scenario. Presented within this paper are the project technological key results supporting this scenario. A technology architecture reference model and an XML model, focusing on tolerance analysis, to support and push the online and serviceoriented architecture based cooperation of OEMs and their suppliers.