Supply chain knowledge management supported by a simple knowledge organization system

•We present a software architecture by using SKOS for supply chain knowledge management.•We identify the most suitable ontologies for developing SKOS-based supply chain management systems.•We present a Web-based tool for automatic knowledge analysis in supply chains.

Supply chain management and business-to-business procurement present several drawbacks in terms of knowledge management. Every stage of a supply chain lacks an effective approach to integrate data workflows for knowledge acquisition. Thus, semantic technologies such as the simple knowledge organization system (SKOS) are being adapted to the requirements of the knowledge management systems of companies. The literature is focused on assets, data, and information elements of exchange among supply chain partners, even though improved integration and collaboration require more complex features of know-how and knowledge. This article proposes a new software architecture named SKOSCM to offer a brokerage service for e-procurement in supply chains. The approach uses ontologies and a Web-based platform that improves collaboration among supply chain partners. A case study is proposed in order to validate the software architecture’s development.