Tendencies and General Requirements for Virtual Enterprises

The concept of Virtual Enterprise is promoted by the current market and economic conditions worldwide, and facilitated by the recent developments in both information and communication technologies. A large number of international research and development projects are also contributing to the development of basic models and supporting infrastructures. However, there is still a need to overcome many technical, socio-organizational, economic and legal barriers before virtual enterprises can effectively perform during their life cycle. A list of general functional requirements for the various phases of the virtual enterprise’s life cycle is presented, based on the identified needs and tendencies in manufacturing systems organization.