A hybrid multi-agent negotiation protocol supporting supplier selection for multiple products with synergy effect
提出一种混合多智能体谈判协议，结合组合采购拍卖与多双边讨价还价，支持采购方与供应商就多产品同时谈判并考虑产品间协同效应，通过仿真验证了协议的有效性。
Supplier selection is an important problem in supply chain management. In practice, it is common for a purchasing company to procure a bundle of products simultaneously. In this regard, synergy effect could exist between products and hence affect the final choice of suppliers. It is therefore necessary to incorporate the synergy effect between products in supplier selection process. Agent-based negotiation models are applied to automate supplier selection process. Negotiation protocol is an essential component should be considered when building an effective agent negotiation model. The objective of this research is to propose a negotiation protocol special for multi-product supplier selection problem. The negotiation protocol is a hybrid multi-agent protocol of combinatorial procurement auction protocol and multi-bilateral bargaining protocol. The negotiation protocol is able to support the purchasing company and suppliers negotiate on the concrete commitments of multiple products simultaneously, and select suppliers for multiple products. In addition, both the purchasing company and suppliers can express their preferences on the synergy effect between products in negotiation process by adopting the negotiation protocol. Simulation is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the negotiation protocol.