Business Process Clustering in Small and Medium Manufacturing Industries Based on Enterprise Resource Planning Concepts: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Business process management has become increasingly important in the manufacturing sector, playing a vital role in fostering productivity and facilitating organizational adaptability to technological advancements. Although each company’s business process models vary in uniqueness and complexity, certain similarities can be identified from these differences. This study employs a systematic literature review to aggregate and summarize findings on business process models, modeling languages, clustering techniques, and foundational clustering principles. Results demonstrate the dearth of research on the grouping of business process models in the manufacturing industry. Several studies have focused on sectors such as services, trading, and insurance. Research specifically addressing clustering in the manufacturing sector is limited. Existing clustering efforts in manufacturing revolve around groupings related to product defects, industrial locations, business ecosystems, and similar factors. Analysis of the methods, scope, and criteria used in grouping business process models in the manufacturing industry indicates that most approaches rely on structural or graphic similarities. Follow-up research is lacking once these business process clusters are identified. This study proposes a novel approach to grouping, integrating business process modeling with the implementation of a management information system. Business process management relies on integrating departments within the company through an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The next step involves proposing a conceptual framework to categorize business processes and assess the comparability of models in the manufacturing sector. Future research directions are also delineated.

Keywords

• business process
• clustering
• erp concept
• systematic literature review