A multi-agent system for supporting the electronic contracting of food grains

With increasing competition and better transportation facilities, the relationships between supply chain actors are getting more complex and individual profit margins are shrinking. Decisions at different levels of the supply chain can no longer be considered independent, since they may influence profitability across the supply chain. Information technology based solution frameworks offer a way to more effectively integrate decision-making by enabling better knowledge sharing and facilitating more transparent economic transactions. This paper proposes the use of a multi-agent system to represent and integrate the decision-making processes of various actors within the food grain supply chain. Within the context of such a system, it presents an internet-based combinatorial auction framework as a technique for implementing electronic contracting (e-contracting) of food grains. The discussion focuses on the relationship between producers and millers, and presents preliminary simulation results that demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of software agents within the proposed auction environment.