Multiagent based simulation as a supply chain analysis workbench

Abstract

The paper presents the application of Multiagent Based Simulation to analysis of supply chain behavior. As has been shown in the paper, agent oriented approach may be considered as a powerful conceptual framework for organization modeling and workbench for simulations of intra- and inter-organizational business processes. All of these theses have gradually been proved in the subsequent sections of the article. Firstly the agent paradigm has been presented as a toolbox for business modeling and complexity management. Then the classical model of supply chain simulation has been transformed to its agent-based version. Finally the case study presents how the agent model of the supply chain may be used in the process of bullwhip effect analysis based on the simulation experiment. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.