Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Conference Proceeding (23)
- Article (22)
- Contribution to a Periodical (7)
- Postprint (7)
- Part of a Book (5)
- Monograph/Edited Volume (1)
- Doctoral Thesis (1)
- Other (1)
Keywords
- Digitale Plattformen (6)
- Industrie 4.0 (6)
- Industry 4.0 (5)
- Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (5)
- digital platforms (5)
- production control (5)
- systematic literature review (5)
- Digital platforms (4)
- E-Mail Tracking (4)
- ERP (4)
Increasingly fast development cycles and individualized products pose major challenges for today's smart production systems in times of industry 4.0. The systems must be flexible and continuously adapt to changing conditions while still guaranteeing high throughputs and robustness against external disruptions. Deep reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms, which already reached impressive success with Google DeepMind's AlphaGo, are increasingly transferred to production systems to meet related requirements. Unlike supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques, deep RL algorithms learn based on recently collected sensorand process-data in direct interaction with the environment and are able to perform decisions in real-time. As such, deep RL algorithms seem promising given their potential to provide decision support in complex environments, as production systems, and simultaneously adapt to changing circumstances. While different use-cases for deep RL emerged, a structured overview and integration of findings on their application are missing. To address this gap, this contribution provides a systematic literature review of existing deep RL applications in the field of production planning and control as well as production logistics. From a performance perspective, it became evident that deep RL can beat heuristics significantly in their overall performance and provides superior solutions to various industrial use-cases. Nevertheless, safety and reliability concerns must be overcome before the widespread use of deep RL is possible which presumes more intensive testing of deep RL in real world applications besides the already ongoing intensive simulations.
Nowadays, production planning and control must cope with mass customization, increased fluctuations in demand, and high competition pressures. Despite prevailing market risks, planning accuracy and increased adaptability in the event of disruptions or failures must be ensured, while simultaneously optimizing key process indicators. To manage that complex task, neural networks that can process large quantities of high-dimensional data in real time have been widely adopted in recent years. Although these are already extensively deployed in production systems, a systematic review of applications and implemented agent embeddings and architectures has not yet been conducted. The main contribution of this paper is to provide researchers and practitioners with an overview of applications and applied embeddings and to motivate further research in neural agent-based production. Findings indicate that neural agents are not only deployed in diverse applications, but are also increasingly implemented in multi-agent environments or in combination with conventional methods — leveraging performances compared to benchmarks and reducing dependence on human experience. This not only implies a more sophisticated focus on distributed production resources, but also broadening the perspective from a local to a global scale. Nevertheless, future research must further increase scalability and reproducibility to guarantee a simplified transfer of results to reality.
Nowadays, production planning and control must cope with mass customization, increased fluctuations in demand, and high competition pressures. Despite prevailing market risks, planning accuracy and increased adaptability in the event of disruptions or failures must be ensured, while simultaneously optimizing key process indicators. To manage that complex task, neural networks that can process large quantities of high-dimensional data in real time have been widely adopted in recent years. Although these are already extensively deployed in production systems, a systematic review of applications and implemented agent embeddings and architectures has not yet been conducted. The main contribution of this paper is to provide researchers and practitioners with an overview of applications and applied embeddings and to motivate further research in neural agent-based production. Findings indicate that neural agents are not only deployed in diverse applications, but are also increasingly implemented in multi-agent environments or in combination with conventional methods — leveraging performances compared to benchmarks and reducing dependence on human experience. This not only implies a more sophisticated focus on distributed production resources, but also broadening the perspective from a local to a global scale. Nevertheless, future research must further increase scalability and reproducibility to guarantee a simplified transfer of results to reality.
In nowadays production, fluctuations in demand, shortening product life-cycles, and highly configurable products require an adaptive and robust control approach to maintain competitiveness. This approach must not only optimise desired production objectives but also cope with unforeseen machine failures, rush orders, and changes in short-term demand. Previous control approaches were often implemented using a single operations layer and a standalone deep learning approach, which may not adequately address the complex organisational demands of modern manufacturing systems. To address this challenge, we propose a hyper-heuristics control model within a semi-heterarchical production system, in which multiple manufacturing and distribution agents are spread across pre-defined modules. The agents employ a deep reinforcement learning algorithm to learn a policy for selecting low-level heuristics in a situation-specific manner, thereby leveraging system performance and adaptability. We tested our approach in simulation and transferred it to a hybrid production environment. By that, we were able to demonstrate its multi-objective optimisation capabilities compared to conventional approaches in terms of mean throughput time, tardiness, and processing of prioritised orders in a multi-layered production system. The modular design is promising in reducing the overall system complexity and facilitates a quick and seamless integration into other scenarios.
In nowadays production, fluctuations in demand, shortening product life-cycles, and highly configurable products require an adaptive and robust control approach to maintain competitiveness. This approach must not only optimise desired production objectives but also cope with unforeseen machine failures, rush orders, and changes in short-term demand. Previous control approaches were often implemented using a single operations layer and a standalone deep learning approach, which may not adequately address the complex organisational demands of modern manufacturing systems. To address this challenge, we propose a hyper-heuristics control model within a semi-heterarchical production system, in which multiple manufacturing and distribution agents are spread across pre-defined modules. The agents employ a deep reinforcement learning algorithm to learn a policy for selecting low-level heuristics in a situation-specific manner, thereby leveraging system performance and adaptability. We tested our approach in simulation and transferred it to a hybrid production environment. By that, we were able to demonstrate its multi-objective optimisation capabilities compared to conventional approaches in terms of mean throughput time, tardiness, and processing of prioritised orders in a multi-layered production system. The modular design is promising in reducing the overall system complexity and facilitates a quick and seamless integration into other scenarios.
Das Angebot digitaler Plattformen ist mittlerweile auch im Maschinen- und Anlagenbau weit verbreitet. Dabei konnte in den letzten Jahren der Trend verzeichnet werden, dass die Herstellerunternehmen von Maschinen und Anlagen nicht mehr ausschließlich physische Produkte veräußern, sondern zusätzliche auf das Produkt abgestimmte Dienstleistungen, wie bspw. digitale Services. Dieser Wandel kann einen großen Einfluss auf die Veränderung des Geschäftsmodells haben und je nach Komplexität der digitalen Plattformen unterschiedliche Ausmaße annehmen, die auch strategische Entscheidungen bestimmen können. In diesem Beitrag wird eine Klassifizierung der digitalen Plattformen im deutschen Maschinen- und Anlagenbau vorgenommen, mithilfe derer unterschiedliche Plattformtypen auf Grundlage ihrer Funktionszusammensetzung identifiziert werden. Demnach können bspw. Plattformen, über die lediglich grundlegende Funktionen wie die Verwaltung von Maschinen angeboten werden, von umfangreicheren Plattformen unterschieden werden, die eine höhere Komplexität aufweisen und somit einen größeren Einfluss auf die Veränderung des Geschäftsmodells haben. Diese Einteilung unterschiedlicher Plattformtypen kann Unternehmen im Maschinen- und Anlagenbau dabei unterstützen, strategische Entscheidungen bezüglich der Entwicklung und des Angebots digitaler Plattformen zu treffen und eine Einordnung ihrer digitalen Plattform im Wettbewerb vorzunehmen.
Digitale Plattformen
(2020)
Obwohl digitale Plattformen vornehmlich von Großunternehmen betrieben werden, bieten sie klein- und mittelständischen Unternehmen (KMU) Potenziale zur Verbreitung innovativer Technologien und für den Ausbau ihres Geschäftsmodells. Für die Umsetzung digitaler Plattformen stehen Unternehmen mehrere Strategien zur Verfügung. Der Beitrag vergleicht und bewertet grundlegende Strategien am Beispiel eines Maschinenbauunternehmens. Die Ergebnisse dienen als Grundlage für die Entscheidungsfindung von KMU.
Enterprise systems have long played an important role in businesses of various sizes. With the increasing complexity of today’s business relationships, pecialized application systems are being used more and more. Moreover, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence are becoming accessible for enterprise systems. This raises the question of the future role of enterprise systems. This minitrack covers novel ideas that contribute to and shape the future role of enterprise systems with five contributions.
Obwohl Handelsplattformen zunehmend an Bedeutung gewinnen, besteht im deutschsprachigen Raum ein Mangel an umfassenden Marktübersichten. Dadurch fehlt es Verkäufern, potenziellen Plattformbetreibern und Kunden an einer soliden Grundlage für fundierte Entscheidungen. Das ändern wir mit folgendem Beitrag. Erfahren Sie hier das Wichtigste über den rasant wachsenden Markt der Handelsplattformen.
Die Digitalisierung des deutschen Mittelstandes schreitet weiterhin schleppend voran. So verfügt zwar ein wachsender Teil dieser Unternehmen über vereinzelte Informations- und Kommunikationssysteme, die zielführende Vernetzung und Integration dieser Systeme stellt jedoch weiterhin eine große Aufgabe dar [1]. Besonders vor dem Hintergrund wachsender Bedürfnisse für Informationen und Transparenz sehen sich Unternehmen zunehmend mit der analyseorientierten Nutzbarmachung der Unternehmensdaten konfrontiert [2].
While Information Systems (IS) Research on the individual and workgroup level of analysis is omnipresent, research on the enterprise-level IS is less frequent. Even though research on Enterprise Systems and their management is established in academic associations and conference programs, enterprise-level phenomena are underrepresented. This minitrack provides a forum to integrate existing research streams that traditionally needed to be attached to other topics (such as IS management or IS governance). The minitrack received broad attention. The three selected papers address different facets of the future role of enterprise-wide IS including aspects such as carbonization, ecosystem integration, and technology-organization fit.
While Information Systems Research exists at the individual and workgroup levels, research on IS at the enterprise level is less common. The potential synergies between the study of enterprise systems (ES) and related fields have been underexplored and often treated as separate entities. The ongoing challenge is to seamlessly integrate technological advances and align business processes across organizations. While systems integration within an organization is common, changes occur when industry and ecosystem perspectives come into play. The four selected papers address different facets of the future role of enterprise ecosystems, including implementation challenges, ecosystem boundaries, and B2B platform specifics.
Enterprise solutions, specifically enterprise systems, have allowed companies to integrate enterprises’ operations throughout. The integration scope of enterprise solutions has increasingly widened, now often covering customer activities, activities along supply chains, and platform ecosystems. IS research has contributed a wide range of explanatory and design knowledge dealing with this class of IS. During the last two decades, many technological as well as managerial/organizational innovations extended the affordances of enterprise solutions—but this broader scope also challenges traditional approaches to their analysis and design. This position paper presents an enterprise-level (i.e., cross-solution) perspective on IS, discusses the challenges of complexity and coordination for IS design and management, presents selected enterprise-level insights for IS coordination and governance, and explores avenues towards a more comprehensive body of knowledge on this important level of analysis.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are critical to the success of enterprises, facilitating business operations through standardized digital processes. However, existing ERP systems are unsuitable for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises that grow quickly and require adaptable solutions with low barriers to entry. Drawing upon 15 explorative interviews with industry experts, we examine the challenges of current ERP systems using the task technology fit theory across companies of varying sizes. We describe high entry barriers, high costs of implementing implicit processes, and insufficient interoperability of already employed tools. We present a vision of a future business process platform based on three enablers: Business processes as first-class entities, semantic data and processes, and cloud-native elasticity and high availability. We discuss how these enablers address current ERP systems' challenges and how they may be used for research on the next generation of business software for tomorrow's enterprises.
Modern browsers are digital software platforms, as they allow third parties to extend functionality by providing extensions. In a highly competitive environment, differentiation through provided functionality is a key factor for browser platforms. As the development of browsers progress, new functions are constantly being released. Browsers could thus enter complementary markets by adding functionality previously provided by third-party extensions, which is referred to as ‘platform coring’. Previous studies have missed the perspective of the parties involved. To address this gap, we conducted interviews with third-party and core developers in the security and privacy domain from Firefox and Chrome. This study provides three contributions. First, insights into stakeholder-specific issues concerning coring. Second, measures to prevent coring. Third, strategical guidance for developers and owners. Third-party vendors experienced and core developers confirmed that coring occurs on browser platforms. While developers with extrinsic motivations assess coring negatively, developers with intrinsic motivations perceive coring positively.
Software platforms regularly introduce new features to remain competitive. While platform innovation is considered to be a critical success factor, adding certain features could hurt the ecosystem. If platform owners provide functionality that was previously provided by a contributor, the owners enter complementary product spaces. Complementary market entry frequently occurs on software platforms and is a major concern for third-party developers.
Divergent findings on the impact of complementary market entry call for the consideration of additional factors. As prior research neglected the third-party perspective, this contribution aims to address this gap. We explore the use of measures to prevent complementary market entry using a survey approach on browser platforms. The research model is tested with 655 responses among developer from Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. To explain countermeasures employment, developer’s attitude and perceived likelihood are important. The results reveal that developers employ countermeasures if complementary market entry is assessed negatively and perceived as likely for their extension. Differences among browser platforms concerning complementary market entry are identified. Product spaces of extensions being available on multiple platforms are less likely to be entered and more heavily protected. Implications for research and stakeholders, i.e. platform owners and contributors are discussed.
Die Potenziale plattformbasierter Geschäftsmodelle im Kontext von Industrie 4.0 sind bisher nicht vollständig erschlossen. Ansatzpunkte für Plattformen und ökosystembasierte Wertschöpfung variieren zwischen Industrien. Die Kunststoffindustrie ist dahingehend bisher weitestgehend unberücksichtigt. Aufgrund der Industriestruktur, insb. der einheitlichen Wertschöpfungsstrukturen eignet sich die Kunststoffindustrie für den Einsatz digitaler Plattformen. Neben Ansätzen für Plattformen in der Spritzgussindustrie bietet der Beitrag ein Vorgehensmodell für die Erweiterung etablierte Geschäftsmodelle. Somit kann der Einstieg in plattformbasierte Geschäftsmodelle für KMUs erleichtert werden.
The digital transformation sets new requirements to all classes of enterprise systems in companies. ERP systems in particular, which represent the dominant class of enterprise systems, are struggling to meet the new requirements at all levels of the architecture. Therefore, there is an urgent need to reconsider the overall architecture of the systems and address the root of the related issues. Given that many restrictions ERP pose on their adaptability are related to the standardization of data, the database layer of ERP systems is addressed. Since database serve as the foundation for data storage and retrieval, they limit the flexibility of enterprise systems and the chance to adapt to new requirements accordingly. So far, relational databases are widely used. Using a systematic literature approach, recent requirements for ERP systems were identified. Prominent database approaches were assessed against the 23 requirements identified. The results reveal the strengths and weaknesses of recent database approaches. To this end, the results highlight the demand to combine multiple database approaches to fulfill recent business requirements. From a conceptual point of view, this paper supports the idea of federated databases which are interoperable to fulfill future requirements and support business operation. This research forms the basis for renewal of the current generation of ERP systems and proposes to ERP vendors to use different database concepts in the future.
Die Wettbewerbsposition von Unternehmen zukunftsorientiert ausbauenPlattformen als strategisches Geschäftsmodell können die unternehmerische Wettbewerbsfähigkeit verbessern. Mittels eigener Plattformen koordinieren Unternehmen externe Wertschöpfung, setzen strategische Impulse am Markt und reduzieren gleichzeitig die Risiken von Innovationen.Die Stellung am Markt festigen, absichern oder ausbauenDer Autor vermittelt einen Eindruck von den Potenzialen plattformbasierter Geschäftsmodelle, wobei er auf mögliche Stolpersteine hinweist. Dieses Buch zeigt anhand von Beispielen erfolgreicher Pioniere, welche unternehmerischen Chancen die Integration externer Partner in die Wertschöpfungskette mit sich bringt. Zudem bietet es folgende Inhalte:Praxistauglicher Zugang zu den Grundlagen der Plattformökonomie durch sorgfältig zusammengestellte ChecklistenHandlungsempfehlungen für kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen für die Realisierung plattformbasierter GeschäftsmodelleEntscheider werden durch das wissenschaftlich-fundierte Vorgehensmodell von der Konzeption bis zur nachhaltigen Umsetzung begleitetPlattformbasierte Geschäftsmodelle - Neue Ansätze zur Erweiterung bestehender Businesskonzepte gewährt einen Blick hinter die Kulissen von Plattformen für Industrie und Handel und hilft, mögliche Synergien für Unternehmen und Geschäfte zu identifizieren und von den Möglichkeiten der Plattformökonomie zu profitieren.
Yes, we can (?)
(2021)
The COVID-19 crisis has caused an extreme situation for higher education institutions around the world, where exclusively virtual teaching and learning has become obligatory rather than an additional supporting feature. This has created opportunities to explore the potential and limitations of virtual learning formats. This paper presents four theses on virtual classroom teaching and learning that are discussed critically. We use existing theoretical insights extended by empirical evidence from a survey of more than 850 students on acceptance, expectations, and attitudes regarding the positive and negative aspects of virtual teaching. The survey responses were gathered from students at different universities during the first completely digital semester (Spring-Summer 2020) in Germany. We discuss similarities and differences between the subjects being studied and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of virtual teaching and learning. Against the background of existing theory and the gathered data, we emphasize the importance of social interaction, the combination of different learning formats, and thus context-sensitive hybrid learning as the learning form of the future.