RFID and Multi-Agent Based Architecture for Information Sharing in Prefabricated Component Supply Chain

With the increasing volume and scale of prefabricated architecture in China, there is urgent and critical need for the seamless integration of prefabricated component supply chain, which covers project design, component production, logistics and transportation, construction, and maintenance. Due to the coordination problem between the links in the supply chain, the overall operating cost of the upstream and downstream enterprises becomes uncontrollable and the scale effect does not materialize. In this paper, based on RFID application and multi-agent simulation, an information tracking and supply mechanism for prefabricated supply chain are proposed. The research builds the information connections along the whole supply chain using RFID and creates the possibility of zero inventory of prefabricated components along the supply chain. Besides, in order to lower the impact of the demand fluctuation on the supply chain, the research proposes the industry alliance mechanism to satisfy the dynamic supply requirements. This paper, first, summarizes relevant studies on RFID, multi-agent, and industry alliance, and then proposes an RFID and multi-agent-based system architecture for prefabricated component supply chain for information tracking and coordination. It uses a case study involving underground precast tunnel segments to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach in addition to establishing an industry alliance to solve the problem of demand fluctuation.