The future of supply chain data management

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• Kenneth Owens, Manager, Supply Chain Management Technology Team, Boeing and Alexandra Brintrup, IfM
• Thursday 10 December 2009, 17:30-18:30
• Institute for Manufacturing, 17 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Jo Griffiths.

This talk will introduce the audience to the latest developments supply chain technology research at the Boeing Company. Themes include Rapid Materials Response, the Hybrid Intelligent Supply Chain and Self-serving Assets. The self-serving assets project, developed in collaboration with the Distributed Information and Automation Lab at the Institute for Manufacturing, will be presented in detail. This exciting project builds a powerful blend of RFID , sensors, and Artificial Intelligence software, with which aircraft assets are made self-aware and goal directed, and aim to maximise their life in service through contacting, selecting, procuring and monitoring service providers. The result is an open, consistent service chain where complex database transactions are eliminated and an emergent, yet rather self-capable system starts to materialise. Assets use multi-criteria decision making to select among proposals, and handle competition through auctions. They are able to learn from past decisions, and balance the goals of their various stakeholders. The project aims to provide a flexible architecture that will ensure decision optimality, be customizable, and scalable as we are potentially looking into a technology that could see thousands of autonomous assets in the supply chain. The project raises various interesting research questions such as: What methods can we formulate for distributed control of emergence? Can we reduce the Bullwhip affect in the supply chain through automated control and learning? How do we ensure truthfulness in automated systems? How do we balance stakeholder goals in an asset’s lifecycle? These questions help us shape the self-serving asset, which brings about a powerful technology and an operational shift in service and maintenance.

Refreshments available from 17.00 hrs. Presentation at 17.30.

This talk is part of the Manufacturing Thursdays series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge talks
• Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction
• IfM Seminars
• Institute for Manufacturing, 17 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge
• Interested Talks
• Manufacturing Thursdays
• Trust & Technology Initiative - interesting events

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