A methodology for the design of a virtual enterprise

This paper first deals with the systematic structure of a virtual enterprise. At the same time, an information system infrastructure is given to describe the information communication among cooperative partners in a virtual enterprise. Then, a generative methodology is proposed for the effective design of a product/project-oriented virtual enterprise. This methodology is distinguished into three stages, that is, identification of business process, information modeling, and process planning & partner selection. Finally, detailed analysis is focused on information modeling of product/project features and partners´ behavior & performance, to couple product/project requirements with partners´ core competencies.