Cross-enterprise collaboration

Because it is easy to steal information during the exchange of product data, there is a need to develop processes, methods, and technologies to support the smooth introduction of IP protection and to ensure interoperability in cross-enterprise collaboration. Different basic methodological attempts to control the flow of information are focused on technical systems used to minimize the ways in which intellectual property used in information flow can be lost. 

The most common problems in the use of IT in transportation relate to cross-enterprise collaboration and the narrow view taken by some transportation software. Given that transportation is often outsourced, successful collaboration in transportation requires three or more firms to work together, making it much more difficult. Other problems arise because much of the transportation software is focused on efficient routings. The software often overlooks other factors such as customer service and promised delivery times, which should constrain the route selected. 

Bowersox, D. J., Gloss, D. J., Stank, T. P. (2003). How to master cross-enterprise collaboration. Supply Chain Management Review, 7(4), 18-27. 

Establishment is required of an implementer forum hosted by neutral organization, and based on new methods and approaches for testing cross-organizational collaborative processes within the extended enterprise, and all along the supply chain. 

Collaborative and cross-enterprise PLM processes, where a centrally managed infrastructure is not available or not desirable, are characterized by the following... 

The cross-enterprise processes involve multiple companies in the executirui of supply chain processes. The important feature of these collaborative processes is that the companies involved are mainly concerned with their inter-conununications rather than with internal operations of each supply chain imit. That simplifies development and execution of complex supply chain processes. The cross-sectional processes involve multiple supply chain problem areas such as sales, purchasing, and logistics. This characteristic implies that supply chain decision-making and process execution cannot be done in isolation and mutual interactions and dependencies among different problem areas should be taken into account... 

Functionally, however, collaborative engineering calls on a very large cross section of enterprise constituencies and is not limited to engineering or manufacturing professionals. 

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