SOA in reconfigurable supply chains: A research roadmap

Originally coming from business world, Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigm is expanding its range of application into several different environments. Industrial automation is increasingly interested on adopting it as a unifying approach with several advantages over traditional automation. In particular the paradigm is well indicated to support agile and reconfigurable supply chains due to its dynamic nature. In this domain the main goals are short time-to-market, fast application (re)configurability, more intelligent devices with lifecycle support, technology openness, seamless IT integration, et al. The current research challenges associated to the application of SOA into Reconfigurable Supply Chains are enumerated and detailed with the aim of providing a roadmap into a major adoption of SOA to support agile reconfigurable supply chains.