Multi-enterprise collaborative decision support system

The increasing level of collaboration among firms has necessitated the emergence of decision support tools that span firm boundaries. This essentially translates to decision support systems that seamlessly communicate and operate with disparate system characteristics. We propose and develop a multi-enterprise collaborative decision support system for SCM that aids in this process. The multi-enterprise collaborative decision making and support proposed and implemented in this study helps decision makers within and across organizational boundaries to generate more accurate, effective and timely decisions. We contend that this line of research is being well demonstrated in practice, and there is support for organizations requiring such support in their decision making environments. This study contributes to both the fields of ERP, DSS, and the decision making and support aspect of multi-enterprise collaboration. Decision makers in a multi-enterprise collaborative environment need flexible systems that allow for seamless integration among all members of organizational supply networks without being dependent on the knowledge of the users. Within such a system, decision makers from all across supply networks can access, and flexibly use decision making components, explore a range of what-if scenarios and make the best decision for their organization and their customers, partners, etc. based on the results. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.