An Enterprise Ontology Based Conceptual Modeling Grammar for Representing Value Chain and Supply Chain Scripts

Abstract

In business modeling the focus is shifting from individual enterprises to the supply chains in which they collaborate. Contemporary business modeling grammars should allow each enterprise taking part in a supply chain to develop its own information system and at the same time support the creation of system interoperability and information sharing amongst business partners in the supply chain. This paper presents a conceptual modeling grammar for representing business scripts in a way that is both observer-dependent and independent. That is, value chain information should be represented in a format that is suitable for the perspective of any partner in the supply chain (e.g., enterprise, supplier, customer, customer's customer, supplier's supplier) and for the perspective of a completely neutral third party (e.g., government). The proposed observer-independent conceptual-modeling grammar, which is given strength by grounding it in the mature Resource-Event-Agent model, is shown to represent information about business phenomena of diverse supply chain partners such that it can be integrated across enterprise boundaries