With　the　provision　of　knowledge　in　information　exchange　and　business　process　management,　we　present　an　inter-enterprise　application　integration　model.　The　proposed　model　is　based　on　the　technologies　of　XML,　Web　services,　and　Workflow.　It　leverages　a　3-tier　architecture;　so　all　the　public　applications　in　enterprises　are　encapsulated　as　Web　Services.　Data　exchanges　between　enterprises　and　interactions　amongst　those　Web　services　are　realized　by　the　SOAP　protocol.　The　BPEL4WS　(Business　Process　Execution　Language　for　Web　Services)　is　adopted　to　efficiently　organize　and　integrate　the　inter-enterprise　Web　Services.　Furthermore,　the　semantic　feature　of　BPEL4WS　is　extended,　and　a　concept　called　ServiceContainer　is　presented　to　describe　a　number　of　services　with　the　same　type　of　ports　and　operations　such　that　the　model　also　supports　service　selection　and　substitution.　Finally,　we　discuss　some　relevant　issues,　such　as　the　scheduling　algorithm　for　the　engine　and　the　security　issues　for　the　model.　©　Springer-Verlag　Berlin　Heidelberg　2006.