Participatory Planning in a Pulpwood Supply Chain Planning in a Portuguese integrated Pulp and Paper Company

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General case description

Brief overview

The project aims the Celbi Pulpwood Supply Chain Information System (PSSiS) specification, applying the Enterprise Architecture methodological approach. Accordingly, the PSSiS functional requirements emerge from the overall wood supply chain processes architecture, drawn in the course of workshop meetings with a multidisciplinary team of experts from Celbi, one of the largest Portuguese integrated pulp and paper companies.

Organization

This consultancy project was conducted by ISA [[1]] in a partnership with Portuguese IT companies in reply to a Celbi proposal request. The participation process occurs during the entire PSSiS architecture project (about 8 months, 2003), following the Enterprise Architecture methodological approach [1]:

  • It started with the Celbi administration commitment in the project kick-off meeting. The experts involved in each wood supply chain function were identified.
  • The several process specification workshop meetings were conducted by an EA skilled facilitator, who applies the “Port-IT method” for drawing the current situation top-down hierarchical process architecture, starting with the context diagram, the Celbi business model and the several Pulp Wood Supply Chain process flowcharts. Current problems and improvement opportunities were described. The existing systems and data repositories were also characterized. The future process architecture incorporated current problems solutions and improvement opportunities as well as state-of-the-art models and management procedures.
  • The PSSiS process architecture report was produced and validated. It’s results were presented to Celbi administration.
  • The information architecture and applications architecture were produced by the EA team, based on automatic activities and its required input and output data flows. Afterwards, a technological architecture and an implementation plan were proposed.

The project team includes:

  • 1 project manager (20% allocation)
  • 1 EA expert as technical responsible (50% allocation)
  • 1 forest analyst (100% allocation)
  • 1 IT analyst (100% allocation)

Problem structuring

The Celbi Pulpwood Supply Chain Planning problem was defined in the course of the project throughout Celbi experts’ involvement in several workshop meetings following the EA approach.

Intelligence

Stakeholders

5 to 10 Celbi experts were involved during the entire project. The Celbi IT and quality and certification experts participate in all process specification workshop meetings. The first also conducted the current systems IT survey. The remaining participants were selected by Celbi administration according to each workshop specific thematic.

Information

According to the EA methodology approach, the process architecture specification workshop meetings aim the characterization of the following artifacts:

  • Entities/roles
  • Business processes
  • Activities performed
  • Data flows and information attributes, required and produced by the activities
  • Current systems and data repositories

Design

A hierarchical top-down pulp wood supply chain planning processes architecture was adopted. It encompasses the Context Diagram, the Celbi business model and the business processes flowcharts, drawn according to the BPMN standard [[2]]. The future DSS data model and modular components complete specification emerge from the process architecture, according to the Enterprise Architecture methodological approach. Additionally, the decision processes are a useful baseline for organization strategic decision-making, working procedures definition and adoption of process-based certification schemas.

Choice

This public participatory process does not involve a Choice phase.

Monitoring

The Celbi expert´s opinions over the project activities and results were gathered in the several workshop meetings and during the results validation phases. No specific success criteria were monitored.

References

Cited references

  1. Marques, A. F., Borges, J.G., Sousa, P., Pinho, A., 2009. PulpWood Supply Chain Architecture. An application in Portugal. European Journal of Forest Research (submitted)