Coordination of order and production policy in buyer–vendor chain using PROSA Holonic architecture

Supply chain (SC) coordination can be pursued by adopting a centralized or decentralized decision-making approach. In recent years, new software architecture for managing the supply chain at the tactical and operational levels has emerged. It views the supply chain as a set of intelligent software agents, each responsible to perform one or more activities in the supply chain while interacting and negotiating with other agents in the planning and execution of these responsibilities. This paper describes a practical system framework for coordination activities in a buyer–vendor chain to determine the best decision making in the chain using the holonic paradigm. In the present article, while reference is made to the holonic paradigm, its related concepts as well as the implementation aspects of the mentioned paradigm within a supply chain are discussed. Throughout the article, as we try to cast light on the Product-Resource-Order-Staff Architecture of this approach, attention is paid to the operational advancements of the model in order for the model to be responsive to the needs of coordination of product and information flows within a buyer–vendor chain under present stochastic environments. The proposed holonic model in this article makes use of intelligent agents and mathematical models to build decision-making models in the proposed holons, as well as solution algorithms, negotiation mechanisms, and coordination-expanded policies in the mentioned architecture. Numerical studies are also provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed models and methods.     

A multiagent supply chain planning and coordination architecture

A supply chain is a worldwide network of suppliers, manufactures, warehouses, distribution centers and retailers through which raw materials are acquired, transformed and delivered to customers. In recent years, a new system approach for managing the supply chain at the tactical and operational levels has emerged. It views a supply chain as composed of a set of intelligent (software) agents, who are responsible for one or more activities and interacting with other related agents in planning and executing their responsibilities. This paper presents a multiagent architecture of supply chain integration. Agents coordination using extended contract net protocol is discussed. Two types of bidding approaches, i.e., the customizing-type and webbing-type are introduced into the multiagent supply chain system. Finally, a heuristics and two programming models for the planning and coordination of demand-driven supply chains are suggested.     

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.     

Creating agile supply chains

An agile business needs an agile supply chain. Quick response to customer demand, the ability to customise and the need to provide multiple variants for profitable customer niches are all increasingly required by many companies. Yet as manufacturers inexorably move their sourcing of components and low value-added operations offshore, to lower cost countries, so their supply chains increase in both distance and complexity. Many companies are faced with the challenge of providing an agile response to customers and yet operating a lean operation across an extended global supply chain. This is a challenge that needs a solution beyond the abilities of simply judgement, the telephone and spreadsheets. Companies need to utilise the power of Internet-enabled software to provide visibility across their global supply chain and to help them optimise it. In particular the new generation of supply chain optimisation software offers companies the ability to gain visibility and optimisation across their supply chains, at significantly reduced ownership costs compared to earlier systems     

可重构的敏捷供应链管理系统

提出的敏捷供应链系统以供应链基本功能体为核心，建立了一套基于组件技术、代理技术和工作流技术的供应链敏捷化配置工具，可方便地对供应链中的商务流程进行编辑、重组，实现企业业务流程和功能的规范化和敏捷化，以可重用组件实现GUI前台重构，以多代理协同机制实现后台过程重组，较好地实现了供应链管理敏捷化的目标。     

面向制造业的供需链管理集成框架研究

由于经济和技术的发展,供需链间的竞争趋于激烈并将成为21世纪的主要竞争形式。企业间的信息共享和敏捷供需链的快速动态重组,都对供需链系统分布、异构的特性提出了特殊要求。本文基于代理的思想,采用WEB和CORBA技术,设计了一个市场驱动的通用的供需链集成平台,并完成了8个代理设计,节点企业在获得授权后在对象模型的基础上遵循CORBA规范对其Legacy系统进行封装形成适配器,便可加入和退出供需链。     

基于状态维修的开放系统研究与实现

为解决基于状态维修系统间硬件和软件组件的交互和集成、基于状态维修系统组件的快速开发、系统组件的灵活更新和维护费用的节约等问题,开发了一个基于状态维修的开放系统架构,该架构的核心是对分布式基于状态维修软件结构模型的定义。首先定义了分布式基于状态维修软件结构模型,然后论述了分布式基于状态维修网络平台的实现,最后给出了基于状态维修软件结构模型验证的实例。     

基于供应链的物流服务能力构成要素及评价方法研究

为使供应链企业有效她认识和管理面向客户的物流能力,提出了供应链物流服务能力的构成要素与评价方法。首先,按照服务对象和评价角度的不同,将供应链物流能力分为外部物流能力与内部物流能力,并进行了简要分析,进而明确物流服务能力是面向客户的外部物流能力。然后按照要素性质分类的方法,构建了供应链物流服务能力的要素体系,并以此为基础,深入分析物流服务能力的主要特性。最后,利用客户满意与物流能力的正相关关系,以及模糊集等理论方法,为供应链企业提出了一种面向客户满意的供应链物流服务能力的基础评价方法。     

Decentralised production-distribution planning system using collaborative agents in supply chain network

With the fast development of information technology and the global market, collaboration between different functional units in a supply chain becomes one of the most critical factors for global companies to respond to rapid changes in customer needs and increase the efficiency of the whole supply chain. This supply chain environment requires a production-distribution planning system to enable the collaboration between production and distribution units more quickly and orderly. Generally, collaboration in a supply chain needs to resolve conflicts between two decentralised functional units, because each unit tries to locally minimise its own costs, not the overall supply chain costs. Also, there exists incomplete information sharing according to the information privacy of each functional unit. This paper proposes a decentralised production-distribution planning system using collaborative agents that can efficiently mediate the planning gaps between two decentralised planning functions: production and distribution. The validity of collaborative-agent model has been shown using some lemmas and numerical examples.     

基于MAS的供应链可靠性综合评估模型

为了保证供应链的正常运作,构建了一种基于MAS的供应链可靠性综合评估模型。模型上最底层的节点Agent利用遗传投影寻踪法计算节点可靠度,中间层的子系统Agent利用特征值赋权法计算子系统可靠度,最上层的系统Agent负责供应链整体可靠性评估。应用实例表明,该模型可以从局部到整体对供应链可靠性进行全面评估。     

Component-based modeling of enterprise architectures for collaborative manufacturing

Agility and collaboration are key factors in collaborative manufacturing. An enterprise architecture (EA) framework for collaborative manufacturing has to support agility and have the ability to increase opportunities for collaboration. In this paper, an architecture-unit-based enterprise architecture (AUEA) framework is introduced for collaborative manufacturing. It supports the agility and collaboration ability of the EA using architecture units (AUs) and semantics of the metamodel. Each AU is a business-driven minimum EA component which consists of the components in predefined reference models of specific domains and the associations between domains and domain drivers. Because AUs enable the easy composition of a business-driven EA, the AUEA framework is agile. The semantics of the metamodel in AUEA frameworks are modeled using object-oriented and fact-oriented methods. The semantics and AUs enhance opportunities for collaboration. As an example of an AUEA in collaborative manufacturing, an EA for a supply chain on the basis of the supply-chain operations reference (SCOR) model is implemented in this paper.     

The impacts of component commonality on integrated supply chain network performance: a state and resource-based simulation study

This paper is geared toward developing an integrated modeling framework and simulation models for understanding decision-making issues of the supply chain network configuration in an integrated environment. To achieve this objective, first, this paper presents an integrated modeling framework for multistage supply chains, in which the interdependencies between model components are captured. Second, the state and resource-based simulation concepts are used to model the supply chain network configurations. The employment of state and resource-based simulation techniques facilitates the implementation procedure, since they are strong in modeling dynamic supply chain networks with highly interdependent components subject to activity start-up conditions. To investigate the impacts of component commonality on integrated supply chain network performance effectively, a new analytical measure of component commonality that consists of a component-level commonality index and a product-level commonality index is defined. The results of analysis-of-variance and Tukey’s tests reveal that there is a significant difference in performance measures, such as delivery time and order fill rates, when comparing an integrated supply chain with higher component commonality to an integrated supply chain with lower component commonality.     

网格化制造模式中面向联盟协同的安全体系及技术

安全网际协议、安全套接层协议、安全简单对象访问协议和记录级等多层次的安全通信协议及基于公钥基础设施，建立了网格化制造模式下面向联盟协同的安全体系架构。通过基于安全网际协议的虚拟专用网技术、安全的电子商务交易与协作、软件或单据的签名加密、安全电子邮件等实现技术与方法，为联盟企业合作伙伴开展网格化制造模式下的商务协同、设计协同、制造协同和供应链协同提供了全面的安全保障。     

An enterprise architecture framework for collaboration of virtual enterprise chains

The competitive power in the dynamically changing business environment has moved from individual enterprises to virtual enterprise chains. The collaboration of enterprises in a virtual enterprise chain requires that all of the enterprise elements should interact efficiently with each other based upon a virtual framework. However, any efficient framework for the collaboration is not introduced yet due to the incompatibility problem which stems from the inherent complexity of diverse enterprise elements. This paper introduces a new framework, the Virtual Enterprise Chain Collaboration Framework (VECCF), to guide enterprises to promote their collaboration efforts by addressing the incompatibility problem of enterprise elements. VECCF focuses on three aspects of enterprise elements which are capturing the different views of the collaboration: business processes, application software, and enabling technologies. In addition, the structure of VECCF conforms to OMG’s metamodel architecture so that the enterprise models can be extended to specific value chains when it is necessary. The enterprise models of a design chain and a supply chain are applied to VECCF and then integrated into a merged value chain to verify the adaptability and the extensibility of the proposed framework.     

供应链管理(SCM)的协同品质评价的研究

通过对产品供应链的分析研究,提出了基于供应链管理的协同品质评价体系结构,并对其关键技术作了探讨,给出了一种基于Browse/Server模式的三层分布式体系结构的解决方案。     

逆向供应链的内涵及体系结构

论述了逆向供应链的内涵、问题领域；讨论了逆向供应链与供应链、绿色供应链的关系；分析了逆向供应链的特点。提出了一种逆向供应链的体系结构，包括逆向供应链技术基础、实施对象、研究内容和目标，分析了逆向供应链的建模，评价体系和决策技术，运作、控制与管理技术，以及逆向供应链的集成技术与再造工程，为系统地研究和应用逆向供应链提供了理论基础。     

语义Web服务在业务协同与供应链集成中的应用

在面向服务架构中,Web服务组件由于不具有语义特征,难于在供应链的业务协同中实现流程的自动编排。通过引入领域本体,提出了一种基于语义Web服务的供应链协同和集成框架,讨论了语义Web服务的过程以及服务匹配和组合算法,并以物流服务为例说明了业务协作流程的自动组合过程。结果表明,语义Web服务在面向服务的供应链集成中具有流程自动化合成和灵活重构的敏捷性特点。     

基于SOA的闭环供应链管理系统体系结构研究

运用系统论和信息系统规划相关理论方法,在闭环供应链管理特点的基础上,指出了现有SCM系统不能满足闭环供应链业务流程需要,并进行了闭环供应链管理系统总体设计。由于传统SCM系统架构不能适应企业的业务流程重组、不能灵活地支持闭环供应链管理功能,在分析了面向服务架构（SOA）的特点后,给出了基于SOA架构的闭环供应链管理系统体系结构。     

绿色供应链及其体系结构研究

绿色供应链是近年来提出的一个新概念,是一种现代制造业的可持续发展模式。论述绿色供应链的概念和内涵,提出一种绿色供应链的体系结构,分析和探讨绿色供应链研究和实施的主要内容。