SBIR Phase II: Workflows to Enable Agile Virtual Enterprises (WEAVE)

Xsb, Inc., New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project, Workflows to Enable Agile Virtual Enterprises (WEAVE), is envisioned as an on-line service to manage workflow for virtual enterprises. Phase I feasibility was undertaken in the context of virtual enterprises that arise in supply chain management. Phase II will do full-scale implementation of WEAVE to efficiently establish and manage supply chains in an e-commerce environment. Traditional supply chains are built with a small number of long-term suppliers because of the high cost of finding and establishing new supply sources. The Web and a variety of legacy data sources provide abundant information about possible supply sources. But this information is often dynamic and unstructured requiring manual effort to discover. XSB, Inc has developed technology to infer supplier capabilities, giving manufacturers an instant view of 'who makes what' across their own supply chain as well as thousands of potential suppliers across the web. WEAVE will implement this technology to locate sources of supply. This ability to locate sources for parts will be integrated with a system to plan and manage purchasing strategies for a user's complete bill-of-materials. Using WEAVE small-to-medium manufacturers can quickly create supply chains that is relevant for their enterprise. In the long-term WEAVE will serve as the infrastructure for establishing a peer-to-peer supply network.