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This paper aims to explore how omni-channel data flows should be integrated by specifying what data, omni-channel agents and information and digital technologies (IDTs) should be considered and connected.

A multiple case study method is used with 17 British companies. The studies are supported by 68 interviews with the case companies and their consumers, 5 site visits, 4 focus group meetings and the companies’ archival data and documentations.

This paper provides novel frameworks for omni-channel data flow integration from consumer and business perspectives. The frameworks consist of omni-channel agents, their data transactions and their supporting IDTs. Relatedly, this paper formalizes the omni-channel data flow integration in the forms of horizontal, vertical and total integrations and explores their contributions to the adaptability of omni-channel, as a complex adaptive system (CAS). It also discusses that how inter-organizational governance mechanisms can support data flow integration and their relevant IDT implementations.

The breadth and depth of the required IDTs for omni-channel integration prove the necessity for omni-channel systems to move toward total integration. Therefore, supported by CAS and inter-organizational governance theories, this research indicates how data flow integration and IDT can transform the omni-channel through self-organization and autonomy capability enhancement.

This research’s recommended frameworks provide a robust platform to formalize data flow integration as the omni-channel's core driver. Accordingly, it moves the literature from a basic description of “what omni-channel is” and provides a novel and significant debate on what specific data should be shared at what levels between which agents of the omni-channel, and with what type of relationship governance mechanism, to assure omni-channel horizontal, vertical and total integrations.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

Creating a real-time data integration when developing an internet-of-things (IoT)-based warehouse is still faced with challenges. It involves a diverse knowledge of novel technology and skills. This study aims to identify the critical components of the real-time data integration processes in IoT-based warehousing. Then, design and apply a data integration framework, adopting the IoT concept to enable real-time data transfer and sharing.

The study used a pilot experiment to verify the data integration system configuration. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology was selected to support the integration process in this study, as it is one of the most recognized products of IoT.

The experimentations’ results proved that data integration plays a significant role in structuring a combination of assorted data on the IoT-based warehouse from various locations in a real-time manner. This study concluded that real-time data integration processes in IoT-based warehousing could be generated into three significant components: configuration, databasing and transmission.

While the framework in this research was carried out in one of the developing counties, this study’s findings could be used as a foundation for future research in a smart warehouse, IoT and related topics. The study provides guidelines for practitioners to design a low-cost IoT-based smart warehouse system to obtain more accurate and timely data to support the quick decision-making process.

The research at hand provides the groundwork for researchers to explore the proposed theoretical framework and develop it further to increase inventory management efficiency of warehouse operations. Besides, this study offers an economical alternate for an organization to implement the integration software reasonably.

With support from the dynamic capabilities theory, this paper examines the role of Cloud Computing technology use in logistics (Cloud-Supported Logistics) and its effect on business results in Lean manufacturing management (Lean Production implementation) and Supply Chain Integration contexts.

Using the survey method, a random sample of 260 companies in intermediate positions in their supply chains was gathered from a population of 1,717 Spanish companies and used to test five hypotheses. The data were collected by telephone survey using a computerised system with a response rate of 15.6% (260 valid questionnaires). Structural equation modelling was used to test the five proposed hypotheses.

The findings indicate that Cloud-Supported Logistics use plays an important role in achieving better business results in Lean Production environments. Lean Production has been found to have both a direct effect and an even more powerful indirect effect on performance through the Cloud-Supported Logistics and Supply Chain Integration that these technologies produce. Supply Chain Integration is also found to have a mediating effect in the Cloud-Supported Logistics–performance relationship.

This study is valuable for academics and practitioners as it provides evidence of the relevant role played by Cloud-Supported Logistics in Lean Production implementation contexts. Cloud-Supported Logistics and Lean Production are strategically and operationally linked and their joint use results in Supply Chain Integration and better business performance.

Despite the high operational and strategic potentials of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, very few studies have been conducted about its role as enabler of supply chain integration to achieve high‐level operational efficiency. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to be an initial effort towards bridging the existing knowledge gap in the literature.

This exploratory research was conducted in one retail supply chain. A multi‐method approach combining a longitudinal real‐life case study and a methodology integrating several steps, including a “living laboratory” strategy was used and involved all members of a product line to analyze their contributing activities and their interface with other supply chain members; the aim being to explore the impact of RFID technology on inter‐and intra‐organizational processes and information systems.

The results provide support to the role of RFID as enabler of better integration of timeliness and accuracy data flows into information systems, business process optimization through automation, better system‐to‐system communication and better inter‐and‐intra‐organizational business process integration. Furthermore, they also validate the unique characteristics of RFID technology such as enabler of real‐time multiple tags items data collection and exchange within the supply chain and the read‐and‐write capability that may help, for example, to reuse some RFID tags within the supply chain and therefore reduce the cost related to the purchase of the said RFID tags. Finally, the study also reveals the importance of business process renovation and complementary investments during the adoption of RFID technology, in order to achieve high level of business value from the technology.

The paper is original in the sense that it provides some empirical support for the enabling role of RFID technology in allowing supply chain integration.

Recent construction literature has been focusing more on integrative contracting approaches such as integrated project delivery (IPD). However, conceptual studies on integration in IPD literature are scattered and fragmented, that is, most of the studies only focused on the segmented dimension of integration. A systemic understanding of the concepts of integration in IPD project-based context is still lacking. To fill this gap, this paper analyzes two aspects of integration (dimensions and directions) in IPD literature and explores their extent in construction projects.

Grounded theory review and focus group discussion approaches were employed to perform a thorough conceptual review of the literature, frame the research into the theory and increase the fundamental understanding of the concept of integration in IPD literature.

In this study, IPD integrating techniques were identified and their integration dimensions and directions were discussed. Results show that integration in the project-based environment of IPD is a multidimensional construct. Based on organizational, contractual and operational characteristics of IPD projects, twenty-four integration mechanisms were identified and framed into seven clusters. The integration directions over project life-cycle were demonstrated in three contexts: (1) an on-site construction project, delivered traditionally, (2) an on-site construction project, delivered with IPD and (3) an off-site construction project, delivered with IPD.

This paper gathers the segments of integration into a comprehensive overview, which can help researchers and practitioners explore elements of IPD project success more precisely. A theoretical framework of integration clusters is developed, based on IPD literature. The impact of IPD on on-site versus off-site construction is illustrated from an integration direction perspective. Finally, future areas of studies for researchers and practitioners about the concept of integration in an IPD context are discussed. This paper provides a point of departure for future theoretical and empirical explorations.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated rotorcraft design and virtual manufacturing framework. The framework consists of two major sub‐frameworks which are e‐design and virtual manufacturing frameworks. This paper aims to describe the process of generating a specific framework for helicopter design and manufacturing in general, and a method for main rotor blade design.

The e‐design process integrates a pre‐conceptual, conceptual and preliminary design phases and includes many high accuracy physics‐based analysis tools and in‐house codes. The development of analysis programs and integration of flow data are discussed under the e‐design process. The virtual manufacturing process discusses physical three‐dimensional (3D) prototypes using rapid prototyping, virtual process simulation model development using Delmia Quest, virtual machine tool simulation and process‐based cost model. Vehicle geometry is modelled parametrically in computer‐aided 3D interactive application (CATIA) V5 to enable integration between the e‐design and virtual manufacturing processes, and then saved in Enovia SmartTeam which is commercial software for product data management (PDM). Data saved in Enovia SmartTeam are used as a database for the virtual manufacturing process.

The integration framework was constructed by using Model Center software. A multi‐disciplinary design optimization loop for rotor blade considering manufacturing factors is discussed to demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the framework.

The manufacturing (practical factors) could be considered at an early stage of the rotor blades design.

The gap between theoretical (engineering design: aerodynamic, structural, dynamic, design, etc.) and practical aspects (manufacturing) is bridged through integrated product/process development framework. The modern concurrent engineering approach is addressed for helicopter rotor blade design throughout the case study.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether business process integration is feasible.

This paper employs a single case study strategy to research the aforementioned research question. The case study is exploratory.

Based on the findings and within the context of the case organisation, it appears that enterprise application integration (EAI) technology can integrate business processes. However, since it is not possible to generalize from a single case study, further research is suggested to investigate this area. From the case study, it appears that EAI can easily integrate the business processes when it is combined with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

This is a single case study and thus the results cannot be generalized.

The empirical date suggest that organisations may combine ERP with EAI to integrate their business processes in a more flexible way.

The contribution of the paper is threefold: it describes the business process automation layer of EAI technology, it defines and presents a stage model for the business process integration and it examines the research question.

Quality management of products is an important part of manufacturing process. One way to manage and assure product quality is to use machine learning algorithms based on relationship among various process steps. The purpose of this paper is to integrate manufacturing, inspection and after-sales service data to make full use of machine learning algorithms for estimating the products’ quality in a supervised fashion. Proposed frameworks and methods are applied to actual data associated with heavy machinery engines.

By following Lenzerini’s formula, manufacturing, inspection and after-sales service data from various sources are integrated. The after-sales service data are used to label each engine as normal or abnormal. In this study, one-class classification algorithms are used due to class imbalance problem. To address multi-dimensionality of time series data, the symbolic aggregate approximation algorithm is used for data segmentation. Then, binary genetic algorithm-based wrapper approach is applied to segmented data to find the optimal feature subset.

By employing machine learning-based anomaly detection models, an anomaly score for each engine is calculated. Experimental results show that the proposed method can detect defective engines with a high probability before they are shipped.

Through data integration, the actual customer-perceived quality from after-sales service is linked to data from manufacturing and inspection process. In terms of business application, data integration and machine learning-based anomaly detection can help manufacturers establish quality management policies that reflect the actual customer-perceived quality by predicting defective engines.

The purpose of this research is to develop an integrated model for composite rotor blade manufacturing cost estimates at the conceptual design stage. The integrated model seeks to provide a rapid and dynamic feedback based on evaluating the manufacturing cost estimate for a new product design at the conceptual design stage. This paper describes the automated estimating process for design to manufacturing cost of composite rotor blade.

An integrated approach is implemented for evaluating the manufacturing cost estimates. The paper develops each module of the computer‐aided parametric model generation, time estimation models for composite manufacturing processes and decision support system. Finally, process flow data integration is done for all the modules. An example for a complicated geometric rotor blade is shown in this research paper. The results are compared in different design parameters and discussed.

The data integration for this approach was built by using ModelCenter^® software. It is easier and more robust to apply than the other proposed methods. The selection of design, material and manufacturing parameters is achieved by integrated model within a short period of time.

This paper provides an integrated concurrent approach for manufacturing cost evaluation of composite rotor blade. Manufacturing factors could be considered at the early stage of product development phase.

This paper suggests an effective and efficient way of evaluating the manufacturing cost at the conceptual stage of the design process. The concurrent engineering and integrated product process development approaches were addressed.