Approaches to Knowledge Management

There are three fundamental approaches to knowledge management:

Process Approach-It attempts to codify organizational knowledge through formalized controls, processes, and technologies. Organizations adopting the process approach may implement explicit policies governing how knowledge is to be collected, stored, and disseminated throughout the organization.

Practice Approach-It assumes that a great deal of organizational knowledge is tacit in nature and that formal controls, processes, and technologies are not suitable for transmitting this type of understanding . Rather than building formal systems to manage knowledge, the focus of this approach is to build the social environments or communities of practice necessary to facilitate the sharing of tacit understanding. Communities of practice are groups of individuals with a common professional interest who work together informally.

Best Practices-They are activities and methods that the most effective organizations use to operate and manage various functions.

Hybrid Approaches-Knowledge management involves both process and practice approaches.

9.4 Facilitating IOS and Global Systems: From Demand-Driven Networks to RFID

Traditional supply chain : Driven from the back by producers and manufacturers "driving products to market." - To forecast demand, make-to-stock, and push products downstream toward end customers.
Demand-driven supply networks (DDSNs) : Driven from the front by customer demand. - Companies in a supply chain will work more closely to shape market demand sharing and collaborating information.

Benefits of DDSN :

• More accurate and detailed demand forecasting.
• Lower supply chain costs.
• Improved perfect-order performance.
• Reduced days of inventory.
• Improved cash-to-cash performance.
• DDSN provides a customer-centric approach, as opposed to factory-centric approach.
• All participants in the supply chain are able to take part in shaping demand, minimizing the bullwhip effect.
• Probabilistic optimization is used to better deal with uncertainties.

DDSN capabilities provide for agility, adaptability, and alignment.
Agility-the ability to respond quickly to short-term change in the demand and supply equation and manage external disruptions more effectively.
Adaptability-the ability to adjust the design of the supply chain to meet structural shifts in markets and modify supply network strategies, products, and technologies.
Alignment-the ability to create shared incentives that align the interests of businesses across the supply chain.

In general, RFID helps supply chain management a lot. There are only a few limitations of RFID, the cost, atmospheric interference, and limited range(only 30-50 feet at this time). In addition, there might be concerns about the violation of customers' privacy.

B2B exchanges are either private (one buyer and many sellers, or one seller and many buyers) or public (many sellers and buyers). B2B supply chains are provided by electronic exchanges to process communications and transactions. B2B are used mainly to facilitate trading among companies. In contrast, a hub is used to facilitate communication and coordination among business partners, frequently along the supply chain.

The last, directory services can help buyers and sellers manage the task of finding potential partners.

Business Value of Enterprise Systems

The goals of SCM (supply chain management) are to reduce uncertainty and risks along the supply chain, thereby decreasing inventory levels and cycle time, and improving business processes and customer service. SCM have been recognized about its helpfulness both in business and in the military.

System integration has two basic categories, internal integration and external integration.

Internal integration – The integration refer to integration within a company between (or among) applications, and/or between applications and databases. Two examples are listed,

1. The integration between inventory control and ordering system.

2. A CRM (customer relationship management) suite with the database of customers.

External integration – The integration denotes applications and/or databases among business partners. It is extremely useful for B2B and PRM (partner relationship management) systems. Examples are listed,

1. The suppliers’ catalogs with the buyers’ e-procurement system.

2. Product-development systems allow suppliers to dial into a client’s intranet, pull product specifications, and view illustrations and videos of a manufacturing process.

Check the video on YouYuBe posted by supplychainer
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rmV__Yrk7Q