一体化物流信息管理系统【外文翻译】

外文翻译原文Integrated Logistics Information Management System Material Source: Author: Henry C.W. Lau An Integrated Logistics Information Management System (ILIMS) that enables 3PL facilitators to the logistics process flow, share information effectively with other parties. ILIMS is essentially a data-oriented LIS that integrates core logistics processes together so that logistics services can be provided online. It is a web-based system, which provides a common platform via the internet that allows different parties to transmit, capture, share and collect the required data or information.1 The construction of Integrated Logistics Information Management SystemA generic operation model is designed here for integrating ILIMS into third party logistics facilitators. It consists of three layers, namely, logistics service, logistic process and logistics information system:(1) Logistics serviceIt is essentially the physical activities on the supply chain. It includes warehouse operations, inventory management, distribution, reverse logistics, transportation and freight forwarding services.(2) Logistics processIt is the collection of inbound and outbound logistics management activities facilitating the materials and information flow on the supply chain. It connects the business with its customers and suppliers. It essentially supports the delivery of the required logistics services. The logistics management activities include order fulfillment processes, customer relationship management, customer and supplier service and procurement and demand management.(3) Logistics information systemIt is a logistics system application for collecting, retaining and manipulating data within a 3PL company. It is a common platform for sharing logistics information to the companies along the supply chain from the customers, the service facilitators to the business partners. This subsystem underpins the upper tiers of the model through automating the logistics processes, supports decision-making processes ranging from strategic to operational and facilitates business transactions. Hence, an efficient LIS allows 3PL to retrieve, store and transform data into usefulinformation for the right people at the right time. LIS is essentially a key enabler in the delivery of logistics services. Therefore, it is essential when designing LIS that the value-added activities in the logistics process are seamlessly integrated with the corresponding logistics services. Consequently, the performance of 3PL facilitators and all the involved parties in the supply chain can be improved.2 System architecture of Integrated Logistics Information Management System The multi-tier system architecture of ILIMS is proposed to realise the integrated LIS that segregates the system functions into user-related functions, business-related functions, data-related functions and security control functions. Figure 2 shows the system architecture of ILIMS:Tier 1 The presentation tier is the user interface of the system that allows users to access the business functions over the internet by using web-browsers.Tier 2 The application tier contains the business logistics for delivering business functions and logistics services. It interconnects with email services for generating notifications to customers that carry business information like invoices or shipping documents.Tier 3 The database tier is the information repository for storing and retrieving the business data requested by the business functions or further manipulation for performance analysis. It interfaces with other Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) for exchanging data and Online Analytical and Processing (OLAP) applications for producing performance reports based on historical data.Tier 4 The security tier supports the Virtual Private Network (VPN) connecting trusted parties on the supply chain network for sharing business intelligence like performance management reports. Security Socket Layer (SSL) protocol is deployed for all the internet connections with business parties to provide a minimum level of security control at the system level over the internet.3 The function of each sections of ILIMSILIMS employs a distributed computing design embracing the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) technology due to the fact that customers widely adopt Windows and a relatively lower cost of investment is required in implementing the system. The function of each tier is discussed in the following sections.(1)The presentation tierThis tier allows different parties to access business information through theinternet in accordance with the access right granted by the 3PL facilitators. It acts as the user interface of ILIMS, providing various business functions. This tier provides inputs to the application tier and manages the display of outputs. Users are expected to use different kinds of services in the system according to their roles. The presentation tier embraces the client-server model. The server-side is essentially the website, which contains a number of web pages for providing various functions to different group of users. Such web pages are constructed by using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML is designed for representing information and for navigating between information entities. The web page is the user interface for displaying, acquiring and validating data from the user input. It also interprets users’ requests to perform an operation on the data. Since HTML is not used for automated information processing, other technologies such as ASP (Active Server Pages) and JAVA Script were included to make the static pages more dynamic.(2)The application tierThe application tier is the business logic of ILIMS, which provides functional applications accessed through the internet. It contains an ILIMS application server, providing a basic operating environment for logistics business functions supported by the modules of business and data components. The ILIMS interconnects with the email server. It communicates through Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) for generating emails to customers, where business information like invoices or shipping documents is carried out. It synchronises transactional data with other relational databases through Data Transformation Services (DTS), which is a tool of SQL database server that includes a Transform Data Function for data mapping in the selected format.(3)The database tierThe database tier consists of a a database server storing different kinds of business data for ILIMS such as information of customer, supplier, business transactions and product and order status. The business entity components defining the specific data characteristics are invoked by the business components during the business processes. They also expose methods to retrieve, insert, delete and update the corresponding information to the database server through Structure Query Language (SQL) over the ODBC/OLE DB connections. The SQL queries and associated data operations are implemented as stored procedures. A stored procedure is a set of SQL statements that is usually stored in the server and is reused by the SQL database clients. The stored procedure helps to enhance the performance andmaintainability of data operations. Figure 4 depicts the data operations between the application tier and database tier. SQL queries are initiated by the business entity components, which are invoked by the corresponding business components on the application server of ILIMS.(4)The security tierWeb application programmes such as ASP files that run on web servers are potentially insecure due to the fact that they are easily attacked through compromising programme codes or scripts. Also, information is easily stolen by hackers if the security system is not effective. Hence, a security system must be established such that the internet users cannot execute programmes on the server or read files when they are not authorised to do so. Therefore, it is necessary to define security control objectives for addressing the security concerns. Three security control principles are embedded in the system.①Confidentiality –Information transmitted over an untrusted network, such as the internet, is protected against unintended or unauthorized access.②Authentication – The identity of a user who wishes to access the system has to be verified.③Authorisation –Users have the right to access specified information or resources from the system based on their identityThe security tier is essentially the security system services implemented in ILIMS to achieve the above security control objectives. Table 2 summarises the required technologies and associated system components that are designed in ILIMS.4 Performance management by ILIMSThe performance measures are developed in the aspects of sales, operations and support processes. The corresponding metrics and the dimensions of measurement for Subsequently implementing on OLAP are proposed in Table 3.In the database tier, the relational database server provides information to create the OLAP database for producing performance measurement reports. This is done by extracting relevant data columns from the database tables. Before creating the OLAP database, the required data are extracted through DTS and are transformed into a data structure called star schema to facilitate data retrieval and analysis. Figure 6 shows the relationship between performance metrics and dimensions of star schema. The dimensions and measures of the facts table are then selected and combined into the OLAP data cubes in ILIMS. The OLAP cubes willanswer business questions for summarised data in a multi-dimensional perspective.In ILIMS, the OLAP cubes are designed to provide multidimensional views of performance data by analysing the services available on the OLAP server. The dimensions defined for each business area categorise the measures of the cube. Each measure is analysed in terms of each dimension in the cube by using analysis tools provided by the OLAP applications. Roll-up and drill-down operations are performed by the tools so that a summary can be made. As a result, related performance reports are generated for evaluating the business performance of 3PL facilitators.译文一体化物流信息管理系统资料来源: 作者：Henry C.W. Lau 一体化物流信息管理系统（ILIMS）能确保第三方物流服务商实现物流流程直线型，与其他物流活动参与者实现信息的有效共享。