Implementation of Autonomous Supply Chains for Digital Twinning: a Multi-Agent Approach

TL;DR

This paper presents a multi-agent system framework for implementing autonomous supply chains, demonstrated through a prototype in a perishable food supply scenario, aiming to enhance robustness amid global disruptions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel autonomous economic agent-based framework for supply chains, bridging the gap between theoretical models and practical implementation.

Findings

Prototype demonstrates feasibility in perishable food supply chain

Framework enhances supply chain monitoring and robustness

Potential for extension to other supply chain types

Abstract

Trade disruptions, the pandemic, and the Ukraine war over the past years have adversely affected global supply chains, revealing their vulnerability. Autonomous supply chains are an emerging topic that has gained attention in industry and academia as a means of increasing their monitoring and robustness. While many theoretical frameworks exist, there is only sparse work to facilitate generalisable technical implementation. We address this gap by investigating multi-agent system approaches for implementing autonomous supply chains, presenting an autonomous economic agent-based technical framework. We illustrate this framework with a prototype, studied in a perishable food supply chain scenario, and discuss possible extensions.