Epcis-based decision support for assembly networks

The coordination of assembly networks still represents a major challenge in today's business environment. We present a RFID-based inter-organizational system architecture which provides the technological basis for appropriate decision support. While mapping requirements in terms of information storage and exchange to technical system features, we consistently refer to current EPCglobal specifications. In contrast to the pull-based architecture proposed by EPCglobal, which is designed to retrieve and process historical data with a long lifetime, our system architecture follows a push approach. It allows for the propagation of relevant decision support information on past as well as future suppy chain events with short validity. The EPCglobal event data specification is extended to include the required context information. A common protocol layer which interconnects supply chain stages is described in detail. The use of the protocol layer in connection with standardized formats for event and context data supports the interoperability of information systems used in different organizations and facilitates the integration of event-based applications into enterprise architectures.