A study on multi-agent supply chain framework based on network economy

Network economy is a new economy pattern enabled by information technology and the globalization market. This paper analyses the characteristic of network economy and builds a topological structure of it. The interactive coefficient matrix of network economy has also been suggested to depict the effect of network economy. Then, special attention has been paid to supply chain operation in network economy. A multi-agent approach has been applied to study the framework of supply chain in network economy. The information transfer process and cooperation between agents are two key issues in this framework. In order to make the image of this network economy based multi-agent supply chain framework clearer, a simple case is given to illustrate the supply chain operation and network economy structure. Keywords: Network economy; Supply chain; Multi-agent system; Cooperation