E4 — Value chain modelling

Collaboration between enterprises (SMEs) in a common business environment, from the technical point of view, requires a powerful IT-platform oriented to manage collaborative processes and interaction. Key elements are Value chain modelling and managing, intelligent content management across SMEs network, web services interoperability using standards to connect heterogeneous platforms. The focal point of this paper is to show how monitoring and control of projects in collaborations can be supported. Tracing and monitoring of highly distributed processes in collaborations depends on the availability of production data from different perspectives such as design, planning and control or budgeting. Integrating the data along a value chain and from different organisations allows the provision of new services to better manage the operations of SMEs in collaborations. Therefore the Value Chain Modelling concept enable the actors in collaborations to use several services in order to trace and control project processes and performance in an effective, integrated, easy to understand and user-friendly way.