Agents and Multi-Agent Systems in Supply Chain Management: An Overview

Abstract

This chapter discusses the current state-of-the-art of agents and multi-agent systems (MAS) in supply chain management (SCM). Following a general description of SCM and the challenges it is currently ed with we present MAS as a possible solution to these challenge. We argue that an application involving multiple autonomous actors, such as SCM, can best be served by a software paradigm that relies on multiple independent software entities, like agents. The most significant current trends in this area and focusing on potential areas of further research. Furthermore, the authors believe that a clearer view on the current state-of-the-art and future extension will help researchers improve existing standards and solve remaining issues, eventually helping MAS-based SCM systems to replace legacy ERP software, but also give a boost on both areas of research separately.