An IS framework to support the collaborative design of supply chains

Supply chain management involves a series of business processes for the design, engineering, marketing, manufacturing and distribution of products. These processes are characterized by high complexity, they typically cross company boundaries and have to be shaped through the accommodation of diverse perspectives and points of view. The overall problem becomes more complicated in the case of closed loop supply chains, where returns of products or materials have also to be considered. This paper presents an Information Systems framework for collaborative design of supply chains, which supports distributed decision making by providing a series of argumentation, simulation and knowledge management features. The application of the proposed framework is demonstrated through an illustrative example.