The Interactions phase of the framework combines the work products of the two previous phases to produce an Interaction Matrix. The Interaction Matrix defines the relationships of the actors and the data elements.
The Interaction Matrix lists the actors defined in the first phase of analysis along the y-axis. The entries should reflect the same hierarchy defined in the grouping step of the first phase. Again, if necessary, the same actor may appear more than once in the list.
Figure 3 shows an abbreviated example of an Interaction Matrix.
The data elements defined in the second phase are recorded along the x-axis. Similar data elements may be grouped together, if access to those data elements by external or internal actors will be the same. If certain data elements contained within a group of elements will be visible only to certain actors or groups of actors, then the data elements within the entire group must be listed individually.
The grid or data portion of the Interaction Matrix contains the current method of access by the actors to each of the data elements. The grid portion also lists the way in which the data flows, either in or out. It is also beneficial at this point to list the language in which the data elements are viewed, entered, or transmitted. The actors that were identified as major actors (80% of expenses or income) should be highlighted in the matrix. Interactions that are known to be problem areas should be marked in bold for easy identification in the next phase.
Figure 3. Interaction matrix
The Interaction Matrix will be large in scale, so it is recommended that a spreadsheet be used to manage it. Using a spreadsheet to manage the matrix also will allow for easy resorting of the matrix, which may prove useful in the next phase.
Review
The Interaction Matrix developed in the previous phase provides the basis for the Review phase. The Review phase is interested in examining the actors and the roles that they play in the supply chain and serves as a critical step before the Design phase can begin. The Review phase consists of several steps:
• Review the Interaction Matrix for patterns or opportunities for improvement: By reviewing the matrix, the analysis team may uncover problem areas that could be improved. For example, analysis may reveal that some first-tier suppliers are using EDI to transmit invoices, while others are using XML, and one or two are using a Web portal. The analysis team may find that because the Web portal already exists, it would take minimal effort to move the other suppliers to the Web portal, as well.
In another example, analysis may reveal that certain retailers have restricted rights to certain data elements, while others do not. Examination of the data elements may uncover that the restricted data does not necessarily need to be restricted, and the restriction can be removed. The review of the matrix can lead to the creation of homogenized data groups that can be accessed by a greater number of actors.
Homogenized data have the benefits of manageability and maintainability by both system developers and system users.
• Create a new idealized Interaction Matrix: The Interaction Matrix created in the third phase was very much a physical representation of the supply chain, as it currently exists. After review of the matrix in the previous step, a new idealized Interaction Matrix can be created.
This new matrix should incorporate all of the opportunities for improvements identified in the previous step. The new matrix should see groups of actors having the same access to the same data elements and accessing those elements in the same fashion. If necessary, the matrix can be reorganized. Actors or data elements can be regrouped, as necessary, to create streamlined interaction.
• Prioritize the development of new processes, technologies, and interactions: The new idealized matrix will include many suggestions for changes to processes, technology, and/or interactions. It is not possible to implement all of the changes at once, and, for that reason, the suggested improvements should be prioritized for both design and development.
First consideration should be given to the changes that affect the actors who account for the majority of expenses and income. At the same time, consideration should be given to the problematic interactions. Perhaps there will be a greater return by correcting those first, even if those interactions account for less of the business.
It is also at this point that the project plan and timeline should be updated to include new priorities and the estimated design and development efforts. The stakeholders will need the project plan to assess their support of the project.
• Reaffirm stakeholder buy-in to the project: A critical step in the Review phase is to reassess the project and reaffirm stakeholder buy-in. The idealized interaction matrix, along with the prioritizations and an updated project plan, is presented to the stakeholders for evaluation. This checkpoint in the process also serves as a critical communication step between the project team and the project stakeholders.
The stakeholders at this point may wish to modify the prioritizations and/or project timing.
Design
Once the review has been completed and the prioritizations for design and development have been approved, the design of the new interactions can begin, based on the
prioritizations set in the previous step. The Design phase should include progressive refinements of the data structures, architectures, interfaces, and procedural detail (Pressman, 2001) required to support the interactions of the supply chain. The Design phase is iterative in nature, in that design will be ongoing as increments are released to the Development phase.
Because of the way in which the actors, data elements, and interactions were analyzed in the first three phases, there are various possible methods of design that may be employed. Object-oriented, agent-oriented, and even structured design models can be produced with the data acquired from the first three phases.
During the Design phase, consideration should be given to the existing technologies and infrastructure within the supply chain. Analysis should indicate whether the existing infrastructure should be used, retooled, or rebuilt to support the integration efforts.
The Design phase will see the beginning of communications with the external actors that will be affected by the endeavor to integrate the supply chain. The internal design and development teams will need to work closely, not only with the design and development teams of the external actors to ensure smooth project delivery, but also with the external operators affected by the business process changes.
Development
The Design phase will release incremental designs to the Development phase so that development may begin as early as possible. In some cases, where only processes are to be changed, the design can proceed directly through to implementation.
Development may take the form of software development in the case where new applications are needed to address the idealized interaction framework, or development may be in the form of hardware technical solutions.
Much like the Design phase, the Development phase will be releasing developed increments to the Implementation phase so that implementation can begin as soon as possible.
Implementation
The Implementation phase will see the implementation of the changes to the interactions of the supply chain. The actual integration and streamlining of the supply chain
environment happens at this stage.
As processes, technologies, and interactions are being implemented, the implementation team should be open to feedback from the internal and external actors and should relay this information in a timely fashion to the design and development teams. The implemen-tation team serves as the eyes and ears of the project when it comes to dealing with the internal and external actors.
Given the sheer size and complexity of an ISCE, implementation will not happen overnight, but incremental changes to the actor interactions will continue to steadily move the supply chain toward true integration, thus maximizing all of the benefits that ISCEs boast.
Conclusion
As supply chain environments become more integrated and the information flow is streamlined, actors within the supply chain begin to realize real benefits to processes, time, and cost.
There are many obstacles that corporations face when integrating the supply chain. The major barriers to successful integration and implementation of supply chains are failure to properly identify goals and scope, overly complex projects, and projects that fail to properly address changes to the internal business processes. Steve Banker, Director of Supply Chain Solutions for the ARC Advisory Group says, “Integration issues are one of the prime reasons we see for implementations that fail to achieve the expected results.
Given the emerging importance of supply chain wide initiatives such as visibility and event management, integration issues are becoming even more critical (www.redprairie.com, 2003).”
In response to the issues presented, this chapter proposed a seven-phase Interaction Approach methodology as a framework for analyzing and developing ISCEs. The framework focused on the actors, data elements, and interactions within the supply chain environment. The framework makes itself available to object-oriented, agent-oriented, or traditional design and development approaches.
As today’s world becomes local and organizations become global, the level of integration of an organization’s supply chain will be the critical factor of an organization’s success.
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