Multi-Agent Based Collaborative Demand and Capacity Network Planning in Heterarchical Supply Chains
Hellingrath Bernd, Küppers Peer
Abstract
In the light of a high division of labor, decentra-lized coordination shows major importance in to-day's production and logistics networks and hence is subject to current supply chain management (SCM) research. Especially collaborative planning concepts promise to meet the specific requirements imposed by heterarchical supply chains. This paper demonstrates the multi-agent based modeling and information system-implementation of one concrete collaborative planning concept, namely the collaborative demand and capacity network planning approach. The paper's intention is to substan-tiate the suitability of multi-agent concepts in de-centralized SCM and to strengthen the motivation to combine multi-agent and SCM research.