Keywords:
Astract: In the context of smart factories, a seamless information exchange between information systems on the same layer (horizontal integration) and between information system son different layers (vertical integration) is a key issue. For this purpose we aim for an integrated modeling framework spanning over production chains and value networks. In building this framework, we first concentrate on the layers realizing the business functions and the manufacturing control functions. Thereby, we build up on the Resource Event Agent (REA)business ontology (ISO/IEC 15944-4) to describe external activities requiring horizontal integration with business partners and internal activities serving as a hook for vertical integration within a manufacturing enterprise. Furthermore, we base our framework on the ISA-95 industry standard (ANSI/ISA-95, IEC62264) to describe the vertical integration within an enterprise. In this paper, we demonstrate how information given in REA models is transformed to corresponding ISA-95 skeletons. In other words, we show how a model describing the main business functions of an enterprise is used to derive essential concepts relevant to the manufacturing execution system.

Keywords:
Astract: The German initiative Industry 4.0 will involve amongst other issues networking and integration of several different parties (e.g., manufacturing companies, suppliers, cus- tomers, sub-contractors) through value networks. This initiative underpins that this collaborative partnership will only be feasible if standardization and open standards are available. For this purpose a reference architecture is needed to provide a technical description of these standards. In this context interoperability plays a major role for the seamless exchange of data and information among partners in these value networks. Interop- erability involves the interaction of different systems and their users. Information modeling is a key concept for providing interoperability. In this paper, we present a standards framework that highlights how existing standards intertwine to establish value networks in an Industry 4.0 context.

Keywords:
Astract: The evaluation of an organization's performance may also consider the assessment of inter-organizational relationships (IORs). However, the evaluation of IORs is typically based on success factors, such as trust, which are difficult to be measured quantitatively. In this paper, we present a framework supporting inter-organizational performance evaluation which integrates (i) a bottom-up approach supporting the identification of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from business information, event logs, as well as process models, and (ii) a top-down approach for measuring business performance on the strategic level based on the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) method. In order to prove the feasibility of the framework, we present an inter-organizational performance analysis case study of a beverage manufacturing company. The case study shows that the framework enables (i) the derivation of quantifiable KPIs from operational data and (ii) the alignment of KPIs with business objectives allowing an evaluation of IORs on the strategic level.

Keywords:
Astract: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are nowadays adapted to the company-specific requirements by customization. Whereas smaller and general feature changes are performed quickly by parameterization, changes of a company's business activities may lead to enormous changes in the system's code. To overcome this problem, we introduce an approach of a flexible ERP system which can be adapted by specific business models for each individual company/tenant by using model engineering techniques. Our approach REAlist is built on top of a generic data structure based on the Resource Event Agent (REA) business modeling ontology and provided as a cloud based service. Business models for each company are described by a domain specific language called the REA-DSL. REAlist enables companies to incorporate business activity changes quickly and without extensive code changes.

Keywords:
Astract: The implementation of a domain agnostic software system (such as an enterprise resource planning system or a trading information system) based on the REA model requires a generic, yet highly adaptable software architecture. Building on top of well established academic findings and proposals regarding the REA model we are proposing a software model building on two main concepts: fragments and declarations. Together they establish a single, exible, extendible class hierarchy implemented purely on a database layer. Fragments and declarations are implemented as associative arrays that are enriched with metadata, providing clear access to attributes and their meta information. The system's exibility is drastically increased by enabling the multi-typification of REA entities.