An object‐oriented approach for building a flexible supply chain model

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a framework for building a flexible supply chain business model using an object‐oriented approach. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed modeling framework has used the de facto object‐oriented modeling standard, Unified Modeling Language (UML), for building a supply chain model. To compensate for the potential weakness of the pure object‐oriented model and UML, the framework integrates business rules with its model. Findings – This paper provides information about several sources, which are the bases of modeling a supply chain. The paper regards a supply chain as five view models with four business domains and each domain consists of functions, resources, processes, interactions and business rules. Research limitations/implications – A typical manufacturing supply chain is considered as a target system to apply this design methodology. The paper does not handle a real case study as an application example. Originality/value – This paper newly added the category of “Business Process Reengineering (BPR)‐driven” models to the traditional taxonomy of supply chain models and proposed an object‐oriented business model (OOBM) for a supply chain as one of the BPR‐driven models. It is hoped that this modeling approach is highly usable and adds value to an analyst, practitioner, and designer in the field of supply chain.