Framework for fractal-based supply chain management of e-Biz companies

Abstract

The high degree of uncertainty of customer demand makes it difficult for e-Biz companies to facilitate their profit maximization. The type of e-Biz company focused in this paper is a B2C (business-to-customer) which connects customers with product manufacturers through the Web interface. In this paper, the B2C company interacts with customers, multiple external manufacturers and a single transportation system. To deal with complicated interactions and relationships among customers, manufacturers and a transportation system, a comprehensive management system to support the B2C company is inevitable. This paper proposes a fractal-based framework for the management of e-Biz companies, where each member in the supply chain is modelled with a self-similar structure referred to as a 'fractal'. The basic fractal unit (BFU) consists of five functional modules, including an observer, an analyser, a resolver, an organizer and a reporter. In this paper, functions of each module will be defined with UML (Unified Modelling Language). Then, the analysers and the resolvers (modules associated with decision-making) for each individual fractal will be specified with mathematical models. A profit model for the company-level fractal will then be formulated. Finally, a numerical example for an exemplary e-Biz company functioning B2C will be presented for the illustration of the proposed methodology.