Explorative Configuration of Supplier Cooperation as an E-Marketplace Service

Supplier E-Marketplaces prevalently offer composite products that require complex production processes where multiple suppliers cooperate with each other. Since collaborating suppliers often hold overlapping production competencies multiple process alternatives may exist where production steps are allocated to suppliers in different ways. This process variability may be exploited for a supplier configuration engine where customers, similar to a product configuration engine, may control the handlers of the production process according to own needs and preferences. We present and discuss an initial set of configuration criteria for such an engine and a first pilot architecture for a corresponding E-Marketplace service.