Study on multi-agent-based agile supply chain management

In a worldwide network of suppliers, factories, warehouses, distribution centres and retailers, the supply chain plays a very important role in the acquisition, transformation, and delivery of raw materials and products. One of the most important characteristics of agile supply chain is the ability to reconfigure dynamically and quickly according to demand changes in the market. In this paper, concepts and characteristics of an agile supply chain are discussed and the agile supply chain is regarded as one of the pivotal technologies of agile manufacture based on dynamic alliance. Also, the importance of coordination in supply chain is emphasised and a general architecture of agile supply chain management is presented based on a multi-agent theory, in which the supply chain is managed by a set of intelligent agents for one or more activities. The supply chain management system functions are to coordinate its agents. Agent functionalities and responsibilities are defined respectively, and a contract net protocol joint with case-based reasoning for coordination and an algorithm for task allocation is presented.