Economic Models - Convex Optimization

Enterprise Modeling and Integration 133
(4) Permanence. The EI model should remain consistent with the enterprise’s
overall objectives even when the enterprise is in the process of
changing due to management changes or other. Models should remain
true and valid within the enterprise.
Finally, the EIM frameworks should be simply structured, flexible,
modular, and generic to ensure that the framework is applicable across different
manufacturing operations and enterprises. In addition, the framework
should relate to both manual and automatic processes. This will provide the
basis for proper and complete integration.
Modeling and integration always mean effort in time and costs.
Nevertheless, to handle complexity in business environments we see the
above-mentioned elements moving from “luxury articles” to “everyday
necessities”.
These are some of the challenges to be solved in future to build extended
interoperable manufacturing enterprises as there is unlikely to be a single
EIM methodology, which will be equally applicable to all organizations
(Li and Williams, 2004). Each organization will have to develop its own
strategy and philosophy. However, EIM promises to be a revolutionary
technology.
Finally, the success of EI efforts lies in the ability to iron out incoherencies
and lack coordination between the multiple facets considered above.
This is a complex and challenging task, and lies at the heart for EI modeling.
Many of the multiple modeling frameworks considered above, like
IDEF, CIM-OSA, or GERAM for example, have stemmed from integration
efforts in the areas of manufacturing or engineering, and while successful
in their own right, these frameworks are still lagging behind when it comes
to integrating across the multiple dimensions, entities and constituents of a
contemporary enterprise that we have identified above.
7. Epilogue
This paper has provided a description of the main issues on EM and EI.
It has become quite evident from the literature that both the issues are complex
and require knowledge on various disciplines particularly on organizational
management, engineering, and computer science. As such, it can be
generalized that EM and integration mainly revolves around organizational
modeling from which the analysis, design, implementation and integration
of the organization management, business processes, software applications,
and physical computer systems within an enterprise are supported.