Abstract
E-Scheduling can be defined as the application of computer and network technology as devices for coordinating tasks that are somehow related. With the evolution of the Web, eScheduling systems also became available for use in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) relationships, for coordinating appointments, meetings, and reservations. In the remainder of the article we discuss e-scheduling first in production systems and then in office and service environments.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Manufacturing Execution System (MES): A shop floor control system that includes either manual or automatic labor and production reporting as well as online inquiries and links to tasks that take place on the production floor.
Groupware Calendar: A Web-based system that allows an authorized group of persons or (software) agents to access a common calendar and to modify its entries.
Supply Chain Management (SCM): SCM tries to improve the flow of materials, information, and financial resources within the company and among collaborating companies by sharing information, by concerted planning and scheduling, by coordinated execution, and by concerted monitoring and controlling to raise the competitiveness of the entire supply chain.
Agent: Software that works toward goals in a dynamic environment on behalf of another entity (human or computational) without continuous direct supervision or control and exhibits a significant degree of flexibility and even creativity in how it seeks to transform goals into tasks.
Leitstand: Decentralized control unit for detailed planning and scheduling of production orders and workflows.
Scheduling: Allocation of resources over time to perform a collection of tasks. A schedule maps activities to resources, together with their planned start and end times.
Track & Trace: Remote monitoring system providing information about the position of vehicles, containers, palettes, or other resources.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System: An accounting-oriented, multimodule, integrated information system for identifying and planning the enterprise-wide resources needed to take, make, ship, and account for customer orders.