Virtual Enterprise Configuration Research Articles

A Bilateral Multi-Attribute Negotiation-Based Approach for a VE Configuration

In this paper, a specific case faced during the process of a Virtual Enterprise (VE) configuration from the Virtual Breeding Environment (VBE), for a specific Business Opportunity (BO), was studied. The considered case deals with the existence of a unique qualified partner in the VBE with a specific competence required by an activity of the BO at hand. This partner may behave opportunistically, taking advantage of being the only competent VBE member to achieve an activity, influencing, then, the effectiveness of the VE configuration. This paper proposed the integration of a bilateral multi-attribute negotiation process in the partner selection mechanism to improve the unique competent partner proposal and the development of a negotiation process-based concession. During negotiation, automated agents, representing the broker and the unique partner, exchange proposals and counter-proposals to reach a mutual agreement. Then, the accepted proposal is integrated into the Multi-Objective Programming model to complete the partner selection and order allocation mechanism. A real case study from a network in textile sector was presented to prove the contribution of the development and the integration of the negotiation process in the partner selection decision-making mechanism. The performance evaluation shows that integrating negotiation in the decision-making mechanism improves the VE objectives and performances.

An integrated Fuzzy ANP-MOP approach for partner selection problem and order allocation optimization: The case of virtual enterprise configuration

Virtual networked enterprises have become a necessity for organizations to integrate better with the highly competitive markets in the 21st century. Virtual Enterprise (VE) depends on the performance of its members. Hence, the development of an effective methodology for the evaluation and selection of the suitable partners is a crucial issue toward forming a successful VE. The aim of this paper is to address the partner selection problem and order allocation optimization for the VE creation from Virtual organizations Breeding Environments (VBE) to respond to a specific Business Opportunity (BO). In this context, an exhaustive list of evaluation criteria is identified. A two-stage methodic approach is also proposed to make an objective evaluation for selecting the suitable partners of a VE with considering the BO requirements. In the first stage, a fuzzy analytical network process is used to determine the weights of the partner evaluation criteria. In the second stage, the obtained criteria weights are incorporated into a multi-objective programming model, which is solved using Weighted Sum Method to identify the appropriate VE configuration. Two illustrative examples artificially designed as well as a real case study from a network in textile sector are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed approach.

Selection of partners in virtual enterprise paradigm

Agility is the competitive advantage in the global manufacturing environment. It is believed that the agility can be realized by dynamically reconfigurable virtual enterprise. However, the configuration of virtual enterprises is a challenge to us. In selecting the partners for the reconfiguration of virtual enterprise, many factors should be taken into consideration. However, the manufacturing cost and time to market are the most important factors. In this paper, in considering the completion time as a constraint we model the partner selection problem by an integer programming formulation to minimize the manufacturing cost. The formulation is then transformed into a graph-theoretical formulation and a 2-phase algorithm is developed to solve the problem. In the first phase, a polynomial bounded algorithm is proposed to find the earliest completion time, so we obtained a feasible solution. In phase 2, we improve the solution by exchanging the candidate partners in keeping the solution in the feasible region. Although we may not find the optimal solution for the problem by the improvement algorithm, the objective is reduced iteration by iteration. Thus, the algorithm is efficient and can be applicable to practical problems. An illustrative example is presented to show the application of the proposed algorithm.

Reference models supporting enterprise networks and virtual enterprises

This article analyses different types of reference models applicable to support the set up and (re)configuration of Virtual Enterprises (VEs). Reference models are models capturing concepts common to VEs aiming to convert the task of setting up a VE into a configuration task, and hence reducing the time needed for VE creation. The reference models are analysed through a mapping onto the Virtual Enterprise Reference Architecture (VERA) based upon GERAM and created in the IMS GLOBEMEN project.

Multi-Agent Based Virtual Enterprise Configuration Management: General Principles and Basic Technologies

Virtual enterprise (VE) is a new form of independent enterprises co-operation. VE configuring requires an analysis of current enterprise facilities along with its future goals. The results of such an analysis will be required for determining an appropriate reference configuration to build an enterprise. During the configuring, structure and elements of systems must be modified and adapted to new goals. The organisation of these processes, called VE Configuration Management, constitutes the main focus of this paper. The general objectives of the paper are to determine a methodology, a set of models, and a decision support system architecture based on multi-agent and AI techniques for configuration management.