A new model for manufacturing supply chain networks: A multiagent approach

F. T.S. Chan, H. K. Chan

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

46 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Participating members in a manufacturing supply chain usually make use of an information system like enterprise resources planning (ERP) for planning and scheduling activities independently. Recent research indicates that there is a need to handle such distributed activities in an integrated manner, especially under uncertain and fast changing environments. A multiagent system, a branch of distributed artificial intelligence, is a contemporary modelling technique for a distributed system in the manufacturing domain. This distributed modelling technique is suitable for integrating supply chain networks, which have distributed entities within the system, and each of them makes decision locally, i.e. a local information system. By adopting a multiagent modelling technique, supply chain networks can be built efficiently based on an information system. However, with reference to the reported research, which involves distributed modelling of a supply chain, a higher level coordination mechanism is not specified. This paper aims to propose a framework that utilizes a multiagent system with a corresponding coordination mechanism dedicated to manufacturing supply chain networks.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)443-454
Number of pages12
JournalProceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture
Volume218
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2004
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Coordination
  • Decision making
  • Distributed artificial intelligence
  • Multiagent
  • Supply chain network

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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