Multi-agent-based task assignment system for virtual enterprises

Manufacturing enterprises continuously have to cope with changing markets that are unpredictable and diverse, with increased global competition and with ever-changing customer demands. These requirements have led to the emergence of the virtual enterprise (VE). The creation of these enterprises, called as VEs, is becoming a growing trend as enterprises concentrate on their core competencies and economic benefit. An enterprise participating as a member of the VE should take initiative in involvement according to the internal production condition, which is changing dynamically with independent management sovereignty. However, most of researches have not considered these issues, that is the constituting enterprises have been regarded as one of the enterprises having their work stations distributed geographically. This paper proposes a multi-agent-based task assignment system for VEs, which attempts to address the selection of individually managed partners and the process of assigning tasks to them. A case example of assigning the tasks to partners is presented to illustrate and prove the proposed system's applicability. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.