Collaborative planning approach for non-hierarchical networks environments

Markets today are characterized by enormous uncertainty in demand that combined with the increasing complexity of new products and competition, has forced companies to adopt new collaboration strategies with its business partners. SMEs need to form non-hierarchical networks where they can complement their capabilities and resources, achieve higher added value and higher control of the business. In these environments, decision making becomes decentralized and operations' planning presents new challenges and becomes more collaborative. An integrated solution for non-hierarchical networks collaborative planning is presented in this paper. The solution proposed includes two collaborative planning scenarios (aggregate and detailed), applied in different phases of non-hierarchical networks' lifecycle, which allows SME's to negotiate prices and delivery times in a collaboratively way. The solution considers requirements from companies belonging to three different industrial sectors, assuring its wide applicability.