Multi-agent-based architecture and mechanism for coordination and execution in agile supply chain operational management

Although previous studies have achieved a great deal on the local decision areas including inventory policies, vendor selection, production scheduling, etc., and the strategic problems, e.g. networks design, simulation and prediction of the supply chain as a whole, few attempts have been focused on the integrated solution for supply chain operational management. As the structure of multi-agent systems (MAS) inherently meets the requirements of autonomy and decentralization for supply chains, we propose a multi-agent-based model of planning, scheduling and execution that is capable of supporting the resource coordination between the self-interested agents through a combinatorial auction mechanism. And a general framework of ASCMS (agile supply chain management system) is presented as the background. To facilitate the functions of this system, the components of various agents and the negotiation process are also discussed in this paper.