Formulation of mobile agents for integration of supply chain using the KLAIM concept

With the ever-growing use of the internet for electronic commerce and data mining type applications, there seems to be a need for new network computing paradigms that can overcome the barriers posed by network congestion and unreliability. Mobile agent programming is a paradigm that enables programs to move from one host to another, do the processing locally and return results asynchronously. In this article, mobile computing is implemented by the use of a kernel programming language, Kernel Language for Agent Interaction and Mobility (KLAIM), to coordinate efficiently and streamline the functionality of a supply chain in terms of data transactions. The proposed KLAIM-based approach addresses the issues relating to mobility, integrity, privacy and security, which are a prime concern when operating in an open environment as normally encountered in a supply chain network. The proposed approach is supported by an example case study where an attempt is made to expedite and streamline the information transaction of a supply chain related to an automotive industry.