Use case of self-organizing adaptive supply chain

The main drivers for the development and implementation of self-organizing adaptive operation processes are the increase of flexibility while lowering costs in times of growing consumer demands, shaping the supply chain into 'the source of enterprises core competence'. This paper is based on the 'Guidelines for conducting and reporting case study research in software engineering' and it demonstrates the design of the self-organizing adaptive supply chain through an integration of processes and systems. As a result, the automated near real-time data flow enables shorter order-lead-time with a high accuracy of information. Although the study includes the architecture for the self-organizing adaptive supply chain, it cannot be completely standardized due to individual processes and IT-systems within different companies. Academics and practitioners may find it useful to identify appropriate scenarios while looking for the ways to digitize their supply chains.