B2B Integration : A Practical Guide to Collaborative E-commerce

Business Process Management (BPM) 137
• An acknowledgement message (Sales_Forecast_Acknowledgment__
Message) if no forecast revision is needed; or
• A forecast revision message (Sales_Forecast_Revision_Message) if
the forecast does require a change.
On receiving a response message, Company X can do one of the
following:
• End the process — if the response is an acknowledgement indicating
that Company T accepts the sales forecast data.
• Process the data and review the changes — if the response is forecast
revision. If Company X accepts the change, the process ends.
• Send a message (Sales_Forecast_Revision_Message) with revised sales
forecasts — if Company X does not agree with the revised figure
from Company Y.
The process continues to loop until both partners have reached an
agreement. Company X will end the process, as it is the initiator of this
business process.
Automate
The objective behind automating a business process is to bring its
latency to zero. Automation can be achieved through wastage reduction,
streamlining the process to reduce duplication, and by having a good
workflow. By automating the process, an organization achieves the
desired productivity and real-time information for internal and external
users. Automation does not mean the removal of human interface, but
more efficient use of human interface.
Executing processes
The next step is to use the process models to execute the processes,
directing the flow of information as needed to and from a company's
internal IT systems and over the Internet to the IT systems of its
partners, suppliers and customers.
There are three approaches to executing processes: logical, physical
read-only and physical write-only. These approaches have different