A Multi-Agent Architecture Framework to Improve Wine Supply Chain Coordination

Abstract

Over the last few decades, a rapid advancement in the arena of technology has escalated the competitive scenario across the globe. Several companies are now using intelligent systems to assist their supply chain management activities. This research, therefore, attempts to explore the advantage of using intelligent systems in managing supply chain activities. A review of the literature shows that with growing demand of food products, improved supply and storage facilities, and strong emphasis on cross boundary trade and policies have generated a lot of interest among researchers to look at the issues faced in the food supply chain. Researchers have attempted to study various types of food supply chains; however, little emphasis has been given to study the wine supply chain industry. One of the key challenges that exist in wine supply chain is the integration among the key members of the supply chain to accomplish a collective set of tasks. This paper, therefore, aims to address the supply chain coordination issue. To achieve better coordination among the wine supply chain members, this paper put forward the use of an intelligent agent based architecture framework. The paper suggests that the proposed intelligent multi-agent framework can reduce the complexity of decision making process, improve the supply chain coordination, and assist the SCM managers in smooth running of the wine supply chain.