The objectives of the IOF SC WG are to identify the requirements of reference ontologies (RO) in the supply chain domain, develop the corresponding Domain-Specific Reference Ontologies (DSRO) and other lower-level ontologies as specified by the IOF architecture, and validate them through multiple use cases. The Supply Chain WG activities are motivated by several use cases including supplier discovery and supply chain traceability.
WG Chair: Dr. Farhad Ameri, Texas State University
Supply Chain WG meets on a bi-weekly basis on Thursdays 10:00-11:00 am EST
Slack Discussion Threads:
Useful Links
Glossary of Terms
Use Cases
Draft Ontology on GitHub
The following image shows an overview of some of the core classes in their relationships in the SC Reference Ontology.

Supply Chain | Production Capacity | Supplier Evaluation |
Supplier | Supplier Capability | Supplier History |
Customer | Transportation Equipment | Manufacturing Service |
Sourcing | Traceable Resource Unit | Container Location |
Facility | Tracking Event | OEM |
Wholesaler | Distributor | Inventory |
Logistic Unit | First-tier Supplier | Lot/Load |
Container/ Package/ Cargo | Delivery Lead Time | Supplier Role |
Examples of IOF Supply Chain terms
Publications:
Farhad Ameri, Evan Wallace, Reid Yoder, Frank Riddick (2022) Enabling Traceability in Agri-Food Supply Chains Using an Ontological Approach, ASME Journal of Computing and Information Systems in Engineering (JCISE)- in press
Ameri, F., Sormaz, D., Psarommatis, F., & Kiritsis, D. (2021). Industrial ontologies for interoperability in agile and resilient manufacturing. International Journal of Production Research, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2021.1987553
Farhad Ameri, Evan Wallace, Boonserm Kulvatanyou, and Chris Will, Towards a Reference Ontology for Supply Chain Management, Proceedings of International Conference on Interoperability for Enterprise Systems and Applications (I-ESA), IOF Workshop, November 2020, France, Tarbes.
Farhad Ameri, Evan Wallace, Reid Yoder, Enabling Traceability in Agri-Food Supply Chains Using an Ontological Approach, ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, ASME IDETC2020-19995, August 2020, St. Louis, MO.
Farhad Ameri and Boonserm Kulvatanyou, Modeling a Supply Chain Ontology Based on a Top-Level Ontology, International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, Volume 1B: 38th Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, ASME IDETC2019-98278, Anaheim, CA, August 2019.
Get Involved: If you are an IOF member and would like to join, please leave us a message on the Supply Chain WG IOF Slack Channel. If you are not an IOF member, please complete a participation request to get involved.