Modeling and Simulation of a Multi-agent Green Supply Chain Management System for Retailers

Abstract

In recent years, the agent technology has been successfully applied in supply chains, thanks to its excellent interactivity, proactivity, and autonomy. However, the existing research on multi-agent green supply chain (GSC) stops on the strategic and tactical levels, failing to implement the relevant supply chain models. To overcome the limitation, this paper designs a multi-agent GSC management system for retailers, with the aim to obtain scientific collaboration strategies among multiple agents and to make effective logistics decisions for the supply chain. Firstly, a 3-layer hierarchical evaluation index system (EIS) was established under the framework of the multi-agent GSC management system. Next, the authors modeled the supply-demand relationship and dynamic game of multi-agent GSC, and discussed the cooperation and negotiation models among multiple agents. Experimental results show that the proposed multi-agent GSC management model is highly effective. The research findings provide a reference for the application of multi-agent technology in other types of supply chain enterprises.