The ontology of a supply chain model based on IDEF5 and Ontolingua

Abstract

Supply chain management realises the concept of global logistic management, and the supply chain model is the building block for supply chain management. Ontology, which increases knowledge sharing and eases communication between every entity, is the foundation of knowledge management. This paper develops the ontology of a supply chain model that can be seen as fundamental research of knowledge management in a supply chain study. After reviewing related studies of ontology and supply chain model, the ontology of a supply chain model is developed by using the IDEF5 based ontology language and the Ontolingua editor. Two models based on IDEF5 and Ontolingua ontologies are compared to show that the two totally different styles do not affect its original nature.

Keywords:

• Ontolingua
• IDEF5
• schematic language
• supply chain model
• virtual enterprises

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the editors and the two anonymous referees for their valuable and constructive comments, which have led to a significant improvement on this paper.