Collaborative planning processes

Abstract

In this chapter innovative flexible processes for inter-enterprise collaborative planning are presented. The processes support the industry's requirement for both effective and efficient collaboration when planning capacities throughout BTO supply networks. This overcomes current process-related limitations. Collaborative planning processes span the whole integrated supply network. They are developed to support dynamic capacity allocation based on plant-specific constraints and to adjust plants' profitable ranges to the current network context and individual capacity situation. Planning capacities in a collaborative way aims to optimise capacity utilisation corresponding to a current market situation. This chapter further presents computer-supported negotiations as a collaborative approach for decentralised capacity planning. Autonomous software agents serve as mediators between partners and perform negotiations. The concept of agents and their application as negotiators to facilitate the 5-day car vision are detailed in this chapter. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.