Enterprise SOA

Chapter TEN. ESA at Work: Examples from the Field

In many ways, the power of ESA must be unlocked through the imaginations of enterprise architects and business process designers. It is in the trenches of business, while battling to survive and succeed, that the best ideas emerge. This chapter is devoted to illustrating how at a variety of levels, ESA is transforming processes, scenarios, and even entire industries in the hope that further inspiration will result. The examples in this chapter rove through many different industries such as consumer products, chemicals, and logistics service providers. The processes covered include service management, vendor-managed inventory, and manufacturing execution. Each of these examples represents the sort of innovation that ESA can unleash.

ESA in consumer products

Consumer product (CP) manufacturers are among the most familiar faces on the front lines of ESA adoption. They face one of the most challenging and competitive landscapes of any manufacturing-based industry. Retailers led by Wal-Mart have consolidated distribution and pricing power, all but dictating the cost structures in which manufacturers must operate. The same pressure forces them increasingly to outsource and offshore their operations, straining their supply chains, while consumer demand—which goes hand in hand with consumer boredom—calls for ever-proliferating numbers of spinoffs from successful products and brands. This leads to even more strain on product development, supply ...