e-Supply network coordination: the design of intelligent agents for buyer-supplier dynamic negotiations

This paper concentrates on the problem of automated negotiations in e-supply network coordination (e-SNC). Supply network is considered as a collection of agent-mediated decisions and coordination mechanisms in a web-based environment. The proposed agent based coordination model is composed of two negotiator agents and a coordinator agent. The coordination mechanism begins with determining the feasible and most promising partners in the network based on the similarity of profiles. In response to autonomy levels and conflict objectives, the model allows agents to negotiate in a cooperative manner through an iterative process of generating offers for re-establishing global optimality. The dynamic negotiation model is then defined based on the protocol, rule of bargain, proposal generation, and dynamic strategy. To illustrate the model efficiency, a prototype system has been modeled and is compared to the normal tendering mechanism. The validation results confirm the model efficiency in providing coherent decision making in a dynamic environment.