Execution system for distributed business processes in a virtual enterprise

New cooperative approaches for manufacturing and service industries, as rep resented by the virtual enterprise paradigm, are enabled by the recent adva nces in communication technologies, computer networks, and logistics. The i mplantation of this paradigm requires the design and development of a flexi ble execution environment to support the distributed business processes tha t materialize the cooperation in a network of enterprises. A configurable a rchitecture for such execution system is proposed focusing the support for multi-level process coordination. A set of examples to illustrate the adopt ed concepts and developed tools are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved.