Cross-enterprise Process Orchestration - Framework for Collaborative Process Automation

New forms of cooperation like collaborative business scenarios require a deep but flexible integration of enterprises. To manage Business Process Automation across such networks existing concepts for integration need to be adapted and extended. In this paper a framework is presented, how crossenterprise processes can be planned, implemented and controlled. The framework is based on the differentiation of global knowledge within the network and local knowledge of a participating company. In order to support the interenterprise interaction open platforms, e.g. orchestrated web services, have to be implemented. Orchestration secures the semantic content of the process-flow. 1 Innovation through Collaborative Business The growing importance of cooperation is a result of globalization in combination with the loosing of political borders and technological changes caused by the Internet [1], [2]. Thus, enterprises have to react on the raised innovation pressure and are often forced to participate in trade on a global scale. Due to the resulting overcoming of regional limitations there is a need for resources that they cannot meet alone [3]. This leads to the creation of national and international cooperations, not only in the vertical interaction relations, but also during the collaborative production of goods and services with complementary core competence partners. The borderless enterprise has been the subject of scientific discussion for some years [4], and the collaborative production of goods and services has been established as a crucial factor in the consciousness of economic entities. The opening of the organizations borders is no longer regarded as a necessary evil, but rather as a chance with strategic importance [5]. The additional effort caused by the network has to be overcompensated by the added-value. Enterprises have to build up new forms of cooperation characterized by a flexible and low-cost feasibility in order to be permanently successful on largely saturated markets. Current approaches that address solutions to specific problems of flexibly interacting organisations are summarized under the term “Business Integration”; the field of investigation is referred to as “Collaborative Business (C-Business)” [6]. While the technological implementation on the one hand and the business model life-cycle on the other hand have been already intensively researched, too little consideration is given to the interconnecting business management concepts. A rethinking from the Adam O., Hofer A. and Zang S. (2004). Cross-enterprise Process Orchestration – Framework for Collaborative Process Automation. In Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Computer Supported Activity Coordination, pages 185-197 DOI: 10.5220/0002667201850197 Copyright c © SciTePress pure technology-driven implementation or profit-driven business model discussion to an integrated view that spans from the conceptual level to the system blueprint is needed. On the conceptual view business processes have proven to be the ideal design item in conjunction with the use of graphical methods. These methods can then be transformed into IT-based specifications. With the use of web services they enable Business Process Automation, i.e. the automatic negotiation of process interfaces. In this paper this approach is expanded to the Framework for Collaborative Process Automation. The elaboration and implementation of such a concept is the subject of the research project ArKoS, sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), that is introduced in the last section. 2 From Middleware to Collaborative Business Up until now integration attempts aligned with technological necessities. Thus different middleware concepts and solutions were developed over the last years. Beginning with the simple Remote Procedure Call (RPC) or Remote Database Access, over Message Oriented Middleware and Transaction Processing Monitors, up to more recent concepts, such as Object Request Brokers (ORBs) or shared components [7]. Middleware however is used basically only for integration at data level; functions that enable further integration levels as object or process integration are missing [8]. „Enterprise Application Integration“ (EAI) provides an approach that goes beyond the pure technical connection of information systems. The different systems – both internal applications and of external business partners – are linked by a uniform integration platform. Therefore only one interface is required to connect the systems to the EAI-system as opposed to a large number of point-to-point connections. The system actively transports data from one application to the other according to the process flow and converts documents into the respectively needed format. However, EAI still lacks another conceptual superstructure by means of which an intercompany collaboration can be planned and implemented. Therefore more recent approaches, such as Collaborative Business (C-Business) and E-Collaboration, expand the EAI idea into business management concepts and methods. C-Business describes the Internet-based interlinked collaboration of all participants in an added value network – from the raw material supplier to the end-consumer [9]. It allows a comprehensive information exchange not only between employees but also between departments and even between enterprises and encourages creative cooperations at all levels. As first case-studies show, the increase in added value is out of proportion to the amount of participants in the added value network. Unlike former concepts, as e.g. E-Procurement, which focused only on small parts of the value chain, E-Collaboration incorporates all stages of added value and business processes. Measures for Business Integration incorporate all relevant business partners into the system; by doing so they become part of the entire collaborative process [10]. For a detailed and systematic analysis and redesign of interorganizational processes, enterprises need a methodological framework that offers support at the business concept level up to their implementation into IT-systems. The appropriate graphic representation of these contents is of great importance in order to support the exchange of ideas and the reconciliation of interests between the different recipients 186