The Resource-Event-Agent Reference Information Model for Intra- and Inter-Enterprise Value Chains

In business modelling the focus is shifting from the enterprise to the supply chain. Contemporary business modelling approaches should allow each enterprise taking part in a business network to develop its own information system and at the same time support the creation of system interoperability and information sharing amongst business partners. This paper presents a reference information model for integrating the information of supply-chain-wide and enterprise-wide information systems. The model is based on the Resource-Event-Agent (REA) semantic accounting model. This paper also shows that the REA reference information model harmonizes the conceptualisations that underlie various types of business information systems.