Logistics & supply chains management tracking networks: Data-management system integration / interfacing issues

Industrial organizations are trying to discover strategies to achieve enterprise competitiveness to improve their flexibility and responsiveness by changing or finding efficient and effective methods, technologies and/or operational strategies that involve the implementation of supply chain management (SCM) strategy (ies) and information technology (IT). However, thorough and much practical research is yet to be conducted in the area of implementation of SCM and IT for effective and efficient data management and systems integration issues. Much as it is still pertinent, doing business over the internet is affordable and very convenient. This enables industrial enterprises to enlarge their view and also grants them an opportunity to easily select, and network with their supply chain (SC) partners. Thus, enhancing the core SCM values of business-to-business operations with information systems (IS) enables data-management workflow systems. The integral specifics of such data-management information systems make it suitable to be implemented within the industrial enterprise management system. Thus, the main part of this is the information-supported data management system inner SC and integrated interfaces. The independent inner systems are linked by the integrated interfaces into an enterprise SCM to manage the logistics tracking network business processes across the independent partners in the SC enterprise system. This paper presents a proposed Master Data Management system of a large ship building manufacturing company for their Logistic and SCM product tracking network by using a design structure matrix (DSM) approach. This paper will also analyze the industrial based case study by addressing or discussing some of the system interfacing issue learned from the industrial based case study DSM approach experience.