Collaborative Environment for Service-enhanced Products

Transcription

1 In: Proceedings of ININ th IEEE International Conference on Industrial Informatics, Jul 2013, Bochum, Germany Collaborative Environment for Service-enhanced s Luis M. Camarinha-Matos, Patricia Macedo, Ana Inês Oliveira, Filipa Ferrada Uninova and FCT - Universidade Nova de Lisboa Monte Caparica, Portugal cam@uninova.pt Hamideh Afsarmanesh Informatics Institute University of Amsterdam Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands h.afsarmanesh@uva.nl Abstract The notion of service-enhanced product offers new perspectives for value creation and differentiation in manufacturing. In the case of complex and highly customized products, the inclusion of business services that add value to the product typically require the collaboration of multiple stakeholders. In order to facilitate the co-creation and delivery of composite services, a proper collaborative environment is needed. This paper introduces a cloud-based collaborative environment, designed to support a mix of collaborative enterprise networks involved in the solar energy sector. Keywords collaborative networks; service-enhanced products; cloud computing I. INTROUCTION There is a growing trend in manufacturing to move towards highly customized products, to be offered in a volatile economic environment, as reflected in the mass customization concept. This term refers to a customer co-design process of products and services which meet the needs/choices of each individual customer with regard to the variety of different product features, taking into account local specificities. Furthermore, buyers of manufactured products increasingly want more than the physical product itself. They often want finance options to buy it, insurance to protect it, expertise to install it, support to maintain it fully operational during its life cycle, advice on how to maximize returns from it, expertise to manage it, etc. [1],[2]. This need has led to the idea of bundling products and services together in customized packages for clients. For the case of complex products and products that are customized, e.g. complex technical infrastructures, intelligent buildings, or power plants, services are increasingly necessary to ensure that sophisticated component sub-systems can be designed, integrated, operated and maintained as final complex packages. In this context, the distinction between the delivery of products and services has become less distinct and is blurred, leading to the notion of service-enhanced product or product-service. On the other hand, ICT, and particularly Internet technologies developments, has also led to placing greater emphasis on knowledge and high added value when it comes to designing such services. In this context, a number of challenges are observed: Manufacturing companies, namely small and medium enterprises (SMEs), wanting to expand their markets to other geographical regions, which implies taking into account local specificities and involving the customer and local suppliers. A growing need to offer value-added services associated with the physical product during its full life-cycle. A need to establish a presence throughout the full product life-cycle, including product evolution / retrofitting and recycling. A need to create collaboration synergies in order to acquire critical mass, extend the competencies base, and get closer to the customer. A desire to pursue co-innovation novel customized products and associated services. The importance of making proper decisions regarding the distribution of activities, selection of partners, and configuration of partner networks. The use of new technologies, namely the Internet and cloud-computing, to deliver services and better interact with the full range of stakeholders. In fact, one of the characteristics of our economy today is that enterprises increasingly need to compete while also collaborate in a global market, using the Internet and other technical means to overcome the traditional barrier of geographical distribution [3]. Internet and cloud computing not only facilitate the development of new collaborative processes, but also allow for new ways of (remotely) delivering services associated to products. Another characteristic is the continuous and rapid change and innovation, which may be internal or external to individual enterprises (i.e., open innovation and coinnovation), but anyway affecting how these enterprises can perform in relation to other enterprises and their market environment. The success of an enterprise, therefore, more and more depends on its ability to seamlessly interoperate and collaborate with other agile enterprises, and be able to adapt to actual or imminent changes and adjust to local specificities, next to other core in making some product or providing a service in the most efficient and sustainable way.

2 This calls for collaboration not only among manufacturers, but also through the involvement of customers and local suppliers in target markets [4]. Provision of integrated services along the life cycle of products thus requires collaboration among multiple stakeholders. More than a shift from product-oriented enterprise to customer-oriented enterprise, a shift to a community or ecosystem oriented model is needed. This paper introduces a cloud-based collaborative environment to support such ecosystem, particularly focusing solar energy plants, which is developed by the GloNet project. II. THE GLONET PROJECT GloNet is a collaborative project funded under the Factories of the Future program of the European Commission. It aims at designing, developing, and deploying an agile virtual enterprise environment for networks of SMEs involved in highly customized and service-enhanced products through end-to-end collaboration with customers and local suppliers (co-creation) [5]. The project pursues the notion of glocal enterprise which represents the idea of thinking and acting globally, while being aware and responding adequately to local specificities. It thus endorses the vision of a new participative manufacturing environment supported by the Internet, hosting a new wave of services, using user-friendly technologies that empower the enterprise of the future. Expected progress in this domain will result in improved efficiency of product intelligence, enabling advanced productcentric services and new business models and capabilities for improved management of global networked operations. The guiding use case in GloNet is focused on the production and life cycle support of solar energy parks. The norm of operation in this industry is that of one-of-a-kind production. The results (products and services) are typically delivered through complementary shared between different project participants. A key challenge here is the design and delivery of multi-stakeholder complex services along the product life cycle (which typically spans over 20 years). In order to extend the applicability of GloNet results, other domains with similar abstract characteristics, such as building automation and physical incubators of enterprises, are also considered. Main focused issues include: (i) Information / knowledge representation (product catalogue, processes descriptions, best practices, company profiles, brochures, etc.); (ii) Usercustomized interfaces, dynamically adjusted to assist different stakeholders; (iii) Services provision supported on cloud computing; (iv) Broker-customer interaction support: from order to (product/service) design (open innovation approach); (v) Negotiation support; (vi) Workflow for negotiated order solution & its monitoring; and (vii) Risk management. The project started in Sep 2011 with a planned duration of 3 years, and involves the following partners: CAS (Germany), UNINOVA (Portugal), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), iplon (Germany), SKILL (Spain), Steinbeis (Germany), KOMIX (Czech Republic), and PROLON (enmark). III. A MIX OF NETWORKS The development and life-cycle support of serviceenhanced products in the domains addressed by GloNet involve the participation of different forms of collaborative networks. This mix of networks, as illustrated in Fig. 1, includes long-term strategic networks and goal-oriented, short- and long-term networks, comprising a wide variety of stakeholders and roles. In terms of organizational structures, both formal (regulated by contracts) and informal networks are present. Long-term strategic networks Goal-oriented networks Manufacturers network development network Service cocreation network Customer network Inheritance servicing network Fig. 1. Mix of collaborative networks involved in service-enhance products. In brief, the main categories include: Manufacturers network a long-term alliance that typically involves product / project designers, manufacturers, service providers, and some support entities, configuring a kind of virtual organizations breeding environment (VBE) [6]. A VBE represents an association of organizations and a number of related supporting institutions, adhering to a base long term (formal or informal) cooperation agreement, and adopting common operating principles and infrastructures, with the main goal of increasing their preparedness towards rapid configuration of goal-oriented networks (Virtual Organizations / Virtual Enterprises - VO/VE). An example in the solar energy domain can be given by the Infranet Partners, a network of SMEs specializing in the control technology solutions for monitoring and supervision of solar plant units and their processes. Besides these focused companies (focused VBE), a more general VBE in this sector could include other stakeholders such as: Project development companies, Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) companies, Photovoltaic (PV) equipment manufacturers, Consultants, Construction & Commissioning companies, etc. This long-term alliance constitutes the base for the acquisition of new customer orders / projects and the rapid formation of dedicated goal-oriented consortia to develop those projects.

3 Similarly for the intelligent buildings case a VBE can be formed around the main engineering contractor and its partners, including architects, engineering consultancy, automation companies, sub-systems providers, etc. Support entities can include telecoms, surveillance / security companies, insurance companies, fire brigade entities, regulators, etc. The physical incubators case shares some characteristics with the above examples. An incubator (of new companies) represents a pool of small companies in their early phase, colocated in the same geographical space, possibly covering different sectors, and that share some basic infrastructures (communications and other generic services) as well as consultancy support in order to evolve towards mature organizations. However, traditional incubators are not yet real VBEs as they usually do not collaborate much in joint business opportunities. Nevertheless it would be reasonable to imagine a next generation of incubators absorbing the goals, principles and mechanisms of a VBE. For such future cases, a VBE could include as main members project development firms, construction firm, specialized providers (for future incubators), tutors/mentors, funding entities, training companies, consultancy companies, financial advice organizations, ICT companies, incubator maintenance companies, security company, etc. Customer network - or customer related community - involving, besides the customer, local non-critical components suppliers, services providers, and a variety of support entities. Although this group might not be well organized and structured, it shares some minimal bonds like geographical vicinity, culture, business environment, legal regulations, etc. In the case of the solar energy domain, the inclusion of local suppliers (e.g. mounting structures for the PV panels) can reduce logistic costs as well as the ecological footprint. But other relevant local stakeholders need to be considered, such as regulators, financial institutions (lending organizations), insurance companies, utility companies, and other service providers. The need to involve (some of) these stakeholders in the goal-oriented networks might result not only from economic considerations but also from legal constraints and socio-cultural reasons. development network a dynamic (temporary) virtual organization (VO) involved in the development of the physical product and design of associated business services. This consortium typically dissolves after product delivery. In the case of the solar energy domain, such network may involve Project development companies, EPC, PV equipment manufacturers, Construction & Commissioning companies, Monitoring & Control companies, Lending organization, Insurance company, etc., which are selected both from the Manufacturers network and Customer network. The customer should also be involved in part of the process. Service co-creation network a dynamic (temporary) virtual organization (VO) involved in the design and development of new business services associated to the (physical) product. Since this area is the least developed, creation of new business services typically requires a coinnovation process carried out by a temporary consortium involving a number of participants selected from the Manufacturers network and Customer network or Servicing network [7]. In the case of the solar energy domain, the creation of new services for the operation and maintenance of the solar plant can greatly benefit from the collaboration of members of the manufacturers network and local entities associated to the customer. servicing network a long-term VO organized to provide integrated or composite (multi-stakeholder) business services along the product life-cycle. In the case of the solar energy domain, an example of such network can include a monitoring and supervision company, maintenance companies, training provision entities, etc. This network needs to work in close interaction with the customer and other local stakeholders, namely regulators, utility companies, insurance companies, etc. Table I shows examples of business services associated to the solar plant [8]. TABLE I. EXAMPLES OF BUSINESS SERVICES IN THE PHOTOVOLTAIC PLANTS OPERATIONS AN MAINTENANCE AREA. Service Category Operation monitoring Collecting and processing realtime data on the plant, combined with control operation Preventive Maintenance Routine inspection and servicing of equipment and plant site to prevent breakdowns and production losses Corrective / Reactive Maintenance In response to equipment breakdown to mitigate unplanned downtime Condition-Based Maintenance Prioritize and optimize maintenance and resources based on real-time data for increased efficiency Other Support Additional services Business Service Energy monitoring services Monitoring reports System performance testing Site security services ata analytics services Panel Cleaning Vegetation Wildlife Prevention Water rainage Retro-Commissioning Upkeep of ata Acquisition and Monitoring Systems Upkeep of Power Generation System On-Site Monitoring / Mitigation Critical Reactive Repair Non-Critical Reactive Repair Warranty Enforcement Active Monitoring - Remote and On-Site Options Warranty Enforcement (Planned and Unplanned) Equipment Replacement (Planned and Unplanned) Training services Energy audit services There are clearly various levels of interplay among these networks. s of the goal-oriented VOs are typically recruited from the long-term strategic networks. A product servicing VO might have (a few) members in common with the product development VO or Service co-creation VO, but typically corresponds to a different organizational structure. A

4 mechanism of inheritance between these VOs needs to be established. The product servicing network inherits, for instance, the product model from the product development network, and the service model from the service co-creation network. The recruitment base (constituency) for these networks includes, preferentially, the manufacturers VBE and the customer related community, but it might also include outside entities. These networked structures need to cope with a variety of membership levels. Instead of a binary "member / not member" situation, multiple degrees of membership have to be considered (e.g. core members, regular members, associated members, etc.) with different levels of rights and responsibilities. The degree of membership might not even be a constant parameter for each entity but rather vary with the context or perspective of analysis, which leads to different geometries of the networks. These networks need to interact and may span over a wide geographical distribution. IV. GENERAL ARCHITECTURE Based on the above requirements, the general architecture as well as the main components needed for supporting the service-enhanced products through GloNet environment are designed as illustrated in Figure 2. The architecture consists of two high-level modules, including: Cloud-based Platform Collaborative Networking Framework. These two high-level modules of the architecture are then divided into a set of layers. The Cloud-based Platform consists of the layer of development environment, where this layer consists of the two sub-layers of Platform Basic-Components and Platform Services Support. On the other hand, the Collaborative Networking Framework consists of the three layers of: Collaborative Networks Environment, Co-working environment, and the user interface layer. These layered structures of the architecture will be defined in more detail below. Furthermore, each layer constitutes a number of ICT components needed for the implementation of the solutions enabling both the collaboration solution space and the business services provision space of the GloNet environment. Cloud-based platform - Aims at providing the enabling cloud services for giving support to the development and usability of collaborative functionalities needed for GloNet. It is split into two layers called: Platform Basic Components and Services Support. The former represents the base functionalities required for the cloud computing support, information and knowledge management and authorized information sharing. The latter represents the services that are available on top of the basic functionalities, extending the cloud provision of services to the upper layer. It is therefore composed of services invocation management, shared resources management, software services cataloguing editor, and process modelling and monitoring support tool. Collaborative Networking Framework - This layer aims at providing functionalities needed for collaboration spaces and to support the different forms of collaborative networks, Collaboration Solution Space Interface Stakeholders Space Interface Business Services Provision Space Interface User Interface Collaborative Networking Framework Portfolio Support Tool Long-Term Strategic Networks VBE - Advanced VBE Trust Value Systems Alignment Analysis VBE Base Service-Enhanced Support Configurator Tool Service-Enhanced Ordering Editor Goal-Oriented Networks VO - Advanced ynamic Consortia Creation Service Registering, iscovering & Monitoring Editor VO Base Risk Forecasting and Co-working Environment Collaborative Networks Environment Platform Services Support Cloud-based Platform Services Invocation Cloud Computing Support Shared Resource SW Services Cataloguing Editor Platform Basic Components Information / Knowledge Process Modeling & Monitoring Support Tool Authorized Information Sharing evelopment Environment Fig. 2. General Architecture of the GloNet System

5 comprising a wide variety of stakeholders that get together in order to create service-enhanced products. The collaborative networking framework is split into three different layers: (i) the collaborative networks management environment that aims to give functionality support to the management of long-term strategic networks and goal-oriented networks; (ii) the coworking environment that comprises a set of support mechanisms for the management and operation of serviceenhanced products, and finally (iii) the user interface layer that provides two virtual portals for the collaboration solution space and the for business services provision space. Regarding the management of long-term networks, the following subsystems are included: - VBE Base - Aims to provide basic management services along the VBE life-cycle. It includes functionalities to manage: the admission/withdrawal of members; the members and network profile and ; the network performance; the membership level; the network s value system, and the shared resources incentives. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 exemplify some details of this component. VBE Creation Configure VBE Create VBE Initial Competences Taxonomy Create VBE Base Group Create VBE External Group Register VBE Founding s VBE s VBE s Mgmt Admit VBE Register VBE elete VBE Search VBE List VBE s VBE Profile Mgmt Register VBE Profile View VBE Profile Edit VBE Profile elete VBE Profile VBE Competences Mgmt Add New VBE Competence View VBE Competence Edit VBE Competence List VBE Competences elete VBE Competence Competences Taxonomy VBE VBE Profile BASE MANAGEMENT SUB-SYSTEMS VBE Profile Mgmt Register VBE Profile View VBE Profile Edit VBE Profile Search VBE Competences List VBE Competences Competences VBE Competences Competences Taxonomy Mgmt Create Competences Taxonomy Add New Competence Edit Competence elete Competence List Competences Taxonomy VBE Competences gap analysis Left VBE Comp Gap Analysis Historical ata VBE Comp Gap Analysis VBE Value System Create value system Add a value elete a value Modify value system configuration Show value system Shared Resources Incentives Mgmt View Shared Resources Hall of Fame Rate Shared Resource View Shared Resources Rating VBE Performance Register Create Performance Indicator Edit Performance Indicator List Performance Indicator elete Performance Indicator Register Performance Evaluation Register VBE Performance Evaluation View Evaluations View VBE Evaluation View Performance Evaluations VBE Groups Create Group elete Group List Group s Advanced List Group List All Groups Broadcast to Group Register Group elete Group Invite Group Apply for Group Fig. 3. Main components of the VBE base management Get VBE taxonomy of Access VBE Competences Verify Taxonomy of Access VBE Get details Help Help Insert new VBE Help List VBE Competence elete VBE Competence Insert VBE List VBE elete VBE VBE Profile Fig. 4. Adapted i* Rationale Strategic Model for the VBE Competences sub-system - VBE Advanced - Aims to provide advanced management services in order to enrich the VBE life-cycle. Functionalities that deal with the trust management among VBE members and functionalities to assess the alignment of the value systems. Regarding the management of goal-oriented networks, the following subsystems are included: - VO Base - Aims to provide basic operation and management services along the VO life-cycle. It includes functionalities to manage and support the operational activities associated to the product and services as well as to monitor their performance and availability; to manage customer feedback and historic data; to monitor the related financial data; and to manage VO evolution. - VO Advanced - Functionalities to dynamically create consortia to quickly respond to a business opportunity and/or order work plan. It includes collaborative risk forecasting and management services, and support services for monitoring the involvement of customers and local suppliers. The Service-Enhanced Support includes: - Portfolio Support Tool - Aims to provide mechanisms and functionalities to support search and display of the product portfolio. - Configuration Tool - Aims at providing a suitable description tool for customers and local suppliers, to iteratively specify and configure product details. - Service-Enhanced Ordering Editor - Aims to provide a learning-based system as well as a dynamic editor for the customer (assisted by the local supplier within the GloNet network) for ordering sub-products (including equipment, and business services and software services supporting and enhancing the complex product. - Service Registering, iscovering and Monitoring Editor - Aims to provide an intelligent editor, for the customer and local suppliers, to register, discover, and monitor the execution of service-enhanced products. The Stakeholders Space Interface includes: - Collaboration Solution Space Interface - Aims at providing an access point where manufacturers, local suppliers and customers meet to co-create the product and associated services. - Business Services Provision Space Interface - Aims at providing an access point to the registry of the products along their life-cycle; here customers can have access to the specific services associated to the customized product. This environment follows a SOA approach [9] and is developed using standard blocks of a Java based technology stack, Eclipse, MySQL, Apache Tomcat, etc. The base platform, developed by CAS Software AG, uses an OSGi runtime based on the Spring framework. V. CLOU-BASE COLLABORATION SPACES As mentioned above, two main collaboration spaces were identified in the GloNet project (Fig. 5). A collaboration space is seen as a construct to facilitate the interaction among stakeholders involved in the achievement of some common goal. Collaborative solution space is envisaged to support a group of stakeholders in the design and development of a new solution, e.g. initial design and development of the product, or

6 co-creation of a new business service. One special instance of this collaboration space corresponds to the business service co-creation scenario. Business services provision space is typically aimed at supporting the virtual organizations that will provide services to enhance the product during its life cycle. Physical space Cyber space Cloud-based pool of resources Pool of European Manufacturers Geo-region A Collaborative solution space (co-creation playground) design eploy Service provision space (along PLM) Fig. 5. GloNet collaboration spaces Customer model + support services Local supplier Geo-region B The two spaces are similar, but their purpose and thus the support tools, are distinct. Common characteristics include: Meeting place - at the bottom line, the collaboration space provides a meeting place where a group of participants come together with a purpose (i.e. jointly achieving some common goal such as development of the physical product or design of associated business services). In the GloNet context, these participants are mostly physically separated and thus the meeting is technology-mediated. Sharing space - as collaboration implies assembling knowledge and information from different parties towards a common goal, it is necessary to provide facilities for sharing such assets. When participants do not "visit" the meeting place at the same time (asynchronous collaboration), sharing facilities are the enablers of information flow among them. Support tools and productivity environment - a variable set of specialized tools to facilitate the activities of the group, e.g. Configuration, Service-Enhanced Ordering, Service Registering, Portfolio Support, Service Monitoring, etc. Privacy and security - although participants are willing to share assets among them, they need mechanisms to guarantee protection from outsiders. Occupancy period - reflecting the time period during which the collaboration space is used by the group (and during which the shared assets are available to the group in the common space). In the physical world, this notion implies reserving or renting the physical space for a defined period. In the virtual space, being very easy to create / destroy "spaces", the collaboration space typically has a life cycle that follows the life cycle of the collaborative network (e.g. temporary virtual organization) that uses it. VI. CONCLUSIONS In order to effectively act in global markets, enterprises increasingly need to collaborate and be active in dynamic networked structures. Particularly in the case of manufacturing companies, the need to present a differentiating element and better satisfy customer needs are causing a shift toward service-enhanced products. Progress on Internet and cloud-computing technologies, not only facilitate the development of new collaboration processes, but also allow for new ways of remotely delivering services associated to products. Complementarily, the continuous and rapid market changes and innovation call for collaboration and involvement of customers and local suppliers in target markets. In order to support such needs, GloNet is developing a cloud-based collaborative environment which provides the necessary collaboration spaces and support tools for multistakeholder involvement in service provision associated to complex and highly customized products. Ongoing validation of the system is focused on the solar energy sector, but extensions to other similar sectors such as intelligent buildings are also addressed. ACKNOWLEGMENT This work was funded in part by the European Commission through the GloNet project (FP7 programme). The authors also thank the contributions from their partners. REFERENCES [1] Q. Shen, Research on Organization Mode Selection of Serviceenhanced Manufacturing Enterprise, in Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Information, Innovation and Industrial Engineering, Nov, 2010, Kunming, China, pp , IEEE Computer Society. [2] M.J. Bitner, S. W. Brown, The evolution and discovery of services science in business schools, in Communications of the ACM, Vol. 49, Nº 7, pp 35-40, July [3] P. Renna, ecision model to support the SMEs decision to participate or leave a collaborative network, in: Int J. ion Research, 51(7), pp , [4]. Romero, A. 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