Research On Multi-Agent Based Agile Supply Chain System

The agile supply chain management now is becoming the power method to improve the enterprise's global competition. The paper focuses on an agile supply chain management system based on Multi-Agent System (MAS), discusses the key technologies about MAS, and provides users an easy way for application developing.Distributed MIS is an inevitable trend of MIS today. Distributed MIS is now confronting with many austere challenges, however existing solutions for distributed MIS still have many limits and their capabilities need to be enhanced. Agent technology is a new distributed computing technology, Agent is a computing unit which can run persistently and autonomously under distributed environments, it has several features such as initiative, interoperability, reactiveness and autonomy. Agent technology provides an effective approach to solve newly emerging distributed application problems. Therefore, Agent technology is the most effective solution to the challenges which distributed MIS currently encounters.Agent technique is playing more and more important function in software system and hardware system, agent technology can provide a viable solution method for the confusion to the software development and some foreseeable behavior. In the present economy situation, A problem which desiderates solution facing to enterprises and researchers of computer science and management is how to realize the concept of supply chain rightly and how to manage the supply chain effectively.The thesis shows the interrelated concepts and management model of supply chain, especially of Agile Supply Chain (ASC), and the very hot technique of agent in computer area (especially in artificial Intelligence area) as a solution is used in the modeling and management of ASC. This thesis emphasizes on the application of Multi Agent System (MAS) in planning and collaboration of ASC.At first, the thesis gives out technologies and architecture of MAS, analyses interaction and communication , collaboration and cooperation among MAS. Then the thesis gives out the key technologies about MAS. In the end, this paper discussesdesign and realization on Agile Supply Chain Based on Multi-Agent System for the example of planning and collaboration system.The primary achievements of this thesis:The agent with mixed structure is improved and used as the agent of ASC Management System. It integrates reasoning, strictness and high intelligence of cognitive agent and quick response of reactive agent to external information and environmental changes.An improved communication model is put forward, in which assistant communication server replaces special communication server, saving time and improving efficiency. The main characteristics are that assistant communication server does not take part in communication, and it establishes relation that is similar to "know- action" relation with each Agent, and can handle the changing information in time and notify other agents.In order to solve collaboration in MAS, improved contract net protocol is put forward and supports cooperative solving among many agents by inviting biding, biding for, sending out bid and execution. Because collaboration is the key technology of MAS and contract net can solve collaboration and cooperation of MAS. This paper discusses logical structure and realization of contract net in detailed.The two algorithms about negotiation and arbitration are designed whose function is that every agent does partial decision-making in cooperative environment, and relates with others to finish the whole decision-making. Thus cooperation in the system of planning and collaboration of ASC based on MAS is accomplished by the algorithms.Finally, this paper is summarized and some problems need to be further researched in the future are discussed.