A supply chain architecture based on multi-agent systems to support decentralized collaborative processes

Abstract

In a supply chain management context, the enterprise architecture concept to efficiently support the collaborative processes among the supply chain members involved has been evolving. Each supply chain has an organizational structure that describes the hierarchical relationships among its members, ranging from centralized to decentralized organizations. From a decentralized perspective, each supply chain member is able to identify collaborative and non collaborative partners and the kind of information to be exchanged to support negotiation processes. The same concepts of organizational structure and negotiation rules can be applied to a multi-agent system. This paper proposes a novel supply chain architecture to support decentralized collaborative processes in supply chains by considering a multi-agent-based system modeling approach. © 2009 IFIP.