Towards agent-based multi-site scheduling

Scheduling problems are usually treated within single plant environments or within companies with several production locations. Due to the globalization of markets companies can no longer be regarded isolated from each other. They are in fact elements of spatially distributed production and logistics networks, where apart from the actual production process transport and stock keeping gain importance. This contribution analyses the organizational structures found in distributed production networks and proposes an approach for their mapping to multiagent systems for integrated production planning and scheduling. Moreover, a platform for multiagent systems deployment is outlined, which is apt to satisfy the major requirements to an agent platform for dynamic, distributed production and logistics networks.