If business models could speak!
Efficient: a framework for appraisal, design and
simulation of electronic business transactions
Michael Schmitt, Bertrand Grégoire,
Christophe Incoul, Sophie Ramel, Pierre Brimont and Eric Dubois1
1 Centre de Recherche Public Henri Tudor
Av. John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg
Email:{ Michael.Schmitt, Bertrand.Gregoire, Christophe.Incoul,
Sophie.Ramel, Pierre.Brimont, Eric Dubois}@tudor.lu
In this paper we investigate the development of an appropriate business model
associated with B2B transactions, designed according to the newly introduced
ebXML standards. We explain the added value of such business model in
complement to the more technical models defined by ebXML. In particular we
explain the importance of achieving a better definition of the economic value
associated with a B2B transaction. Together with the proposed business model
ontology we also introduce a tool for supporting its management as well as a
simulation tool for supporting decision making between different models.
1. INTRODUCTION
For more than 25 years, heavy and complicated standards such as UN/EDIFACT
and ANSI X12 are dominating the field of electronic data interchange. They define
an industry specific set of electronic messages that are the counterparts of the non-
electronic document types that facilitate the business transactions. Several problems
have led to a limitation in the spread of such technology. One problem is that
grammars describing the syntax of the business documents are often complex and in
some cases ambiguous. Specialized IT experts and a high level of communication
are hence required for message implementation. Another problem is the message-
oriented view of EDI standards. There is a need for a global view of the business
transaction that would include their governing rules and alternative possible
scenarios of execution easily. The application of EDI has, therefore, been limited to
the big players with static transactions, and seemed not feasible for SM