A semi-automated brokerage for a virtual organization of mould and die industries in Brazil

Abstract

This paper addresses a semi-automated process of brokerage for a virtual organization of mould and die industries located in the south of Brazil called VIRFEBRAS. This process is represented by a multi-agent-based decision support system that helps a human-broker in the selection of the group of enterprises within VIRFEBRAS which better fits a given business opportunity. This decision is not automated, but rather made via an agreement among the human-broker and all the members. Each enterprise will have a Production and Planning Control system that in turn feeds the whole system with updated data about its current/planned capabilities, enabling global optimizations and trust. Some implementation results are presented and next directions are pointed. © 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.