The architecture of an Internet-based Virtual Industrial Community

Virtual Enterprise (VE) has been increasingly seen as a promising solution for global manufacturing. This paper discusses the environment for supporting the lifecycle of virtual enterprises, from their creation, operation, to decommission. The concept of an internet based "Virtual Industrial Community" has been proposed to depict such kind of environment where potential member companies of virtual enterprises are facilitated with a virtual "community" or "industrial park" like infrastructure. The aims of VIC are to enable these companies to organise or participate in a virtual enterprise more conveniently and efficiently, and to stabilise the dynamics in the design and operation of a virtual enterprise.