COSMOS

Collaborative and Open Supply chain Management Operating System

During the COVID-19 crisis current supply chains have demonstrated a poor ability to make efficient and responsive decisions to supply on time and in-full vital, but also basic, necessities. Even if there were some wonderful firefighting behaviors and stroke of genius which have limited the detrimental impacts, the failure of the current supply chain governance and tools is obvious. In addition, the world is now moving to a huge and long economic crisis in almost all sectors. In such a context, companies will have to fight for surviving. They will mechanically work on eliminating wastes and non-value added in their organizations. They will look for improving their cash flow abilities and therefore, the number of available resources will decrease. At a same time, variabilities on supply, production and demand will increase drastically. Definitively, the new normal for supply chains is now uncertainty and instability. So far, neither in research nor in applications there exist tools that help with overcoming the stated challenges on a long-term perspective due to a lack of methodological foundation and necessary requirements.

The COSMOS project aims at the following three objectives:

1. Position Paper

The COSMOS project aims to fill the research gap by proposing a formal identification and a specification of the new needs for supply chain management decision-making processes and tools in the new normal previously described. This result will be synthetized in a position paper.

2. First version of the COSMOS portal

The COSMOS project also aims to select a first set of existing apps composed of existing commercial software and research prototypes. These selected apps should solve some parts of the new needs identified in the previous deliverable. Obviously, a specific attention to the previous and ongoing research prototypes from TUM and IMT will be paid. Practically, a web portal will be designed and developed to structure this first offer as an open marketplace. On this basis, end-users will have the opportunity to easily access to some concrete solutions able to solve a part of their new supply chain challenges and stakes.

3. Project proposal

Last but not least, the COSMOS project aims to submit a proposal to a French, German or European third-party funding project.

The COSMOS project is composed of 4 work packages:

WP 1: Managing the project (Lead: IMT)

This work package consists in beating the project and securing the deadlines regarding the deliverables.

WP 2: Defining the new normal and its requirements (Lead: TUM)

This work package consists in studying the literature and interviewing practitioners in order to identify the new stakes and challenges for future supply chain management. This work package delivers a Position Paper.

WP 3: Implementing a first version of the COSMOS portal (Lead: IMT)

This work package consists in (i) selecting a set of relevant apps (from existing software companies and from academia, notably from TUM and IMT) and in (ii) designing and implementing a very first version of the COSMOS portal. This work package delivers a portal that any supply chain practitioner or scholar can use to manage the new normal of supply chains.

WP 4: Submitting a third-party funding project (Lead: TUM)

This work package consists in selecting one or several relevant calls for submitting a research project able to manage a part of the stakes identified in work package 2. This work package also consists in identifying the consortium partners. Last but not least, the work package works on the writing of the proposal and the submission.

IMT Mines Albi, Industrial Engineering Center

German-French Academy for the Industry of the Future (GFA)