Supply chain workflow modelling using XML-formatted modular petri nets

This paper presents a modelling methodology of a workflow system of operations in a supply chain (SC) aimed to improve, from the traditional method, the consistency and integrity of the workflow data being exchanged amongst business partners. In this research, an XML-supported modular petri net-based modelling technique is adopted for the representation of the local and global workflow of 'practitioners' in a SC. After constructing a petri net, the model of workflow systems can be constructed, understood and analysed more easily. A modular compositional modelling method is adopted to fulfill the particular functional requirements of a collaborative modelling of dispersed business partners in an up-to-date globalised SC environment. Finally, the use of a widely adopted XML schema for data representation and standard interface and interconnection mechanisms development in a workflow model can further improve the model's overall flexibility and integrity.