Computer Integrated Logistics

Figure 1: Structure of the CIL reference model concerned in each specific case. According to object-oriented modeling, it incorporates information and methods which are specified in the CIL reference model. The CIL reference model consists of five building blocks: functions, institutions, coordination mechanisms, messages and information. The functions comprise activities in the settlement phase of a market transaction. These logistic functions are related to institutions for their production (firms) and for their coordination (firms, markets). Division of labour necessitates customer-adequate 'bundling' of functions through coordination processes. Coordination is effected through coordination mechanisms. Depending on the existence and activity of an intermediary , our model distinguishes five different coordination mechanisms and describes their characteristics. The direct search mechanism, for example, is used in most cargo community systems and implies that the intermediary only offers communication and no logistic functionality. Since coordination processes are made possible through communication, they can ideally be supported by IT. Communication is effected by exchanging messages between institutionalized functions. Messages (such as the order, invoice etc.) consist of various information elements (such as type of product, price, quantity, or time). of manufacuring being adopted (e.g. focussed factory and just-in-time concepts) with logistic processes playing a key role in realizing rationalization effects and/or gaining a competitive advantage. Increased shipping frequencies and the need for up-to-date status information have led to considerable growth in the interchange of communications between shippers, shipping agents, carriers, and consignees. To an increasing extent, banks and insurance companies are being brought into this information cycle. The integrated organisation of logistics, i.e. logistics of goods, money and information , is therefore becoming a central point of concern. Substantial investments are today being made in EDI systems in the transport industry and banking business. But existing solutions are frequently limited to only sections of the shipping and/or payment chain and fail to provide for an effective interchange of information. The Computer Integrated Logistics (CIL) concept takes a broader look at interorganisational relations. In analogy to Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), CIL provides a basis for the con-ceptualization of an integrated information flow matched to economic and business settings as well as the technical infrastructure. Hitherto, there has been no model of integration on an interorgan-isational level. CIL encompasses a reference model describing the necessary logistic functionality as well as the architectural principles that are to be applied at the logic level. As a 'mediator' between the logistic …