Multi-agent simulation of purchasing activities in organizations

In this paper we present a multi-agent simulation model to investigate purchasing activities in an organizational environment. The starting point is the observation that the majority of purchasing activities in organizations are usually performed without any involvement of the organization's purchasing department. The purpose of the experiments is to investigate if and how certain factors determine the degree to which purchasing professionals become involved in the purchasing of non-product related (NPR) items and services. Among the factors investigated are: corporate purchasing policies, available information, and the nature of the various purchasing activities. Preliminary results show that the behavior of the multi-agent simulation model is an acceptable representation of reality. Furthermore, the results show the limits of a purchasing department's added value and the important role of organizational learning in that respect. The paper provides directions for further research.