A review of applications of agent-based modelling and simulation in supplier selection problem

Purchasing activities consume more than half of manufacturing and trading organizations sales capitals. Quality procurement is tied with efficient and highly accurate collection of data needed to purchasing the right material at the right quality from right suppliers. Supply chain management (SCM) consists of complex networks of distributed actors in which the problem of identifying the appropriate suppliers based on specific criteria is strategically important. However, implementation of an autonomous assessment that can incorporate dynamics and uncertainty of the whole supply chain during the assessment period is not addressed in most of the previous research activities. In this paper, a review of the use and development of Agent-based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS) approach in the supplier selection problem domain is provided. The main focus of this paper is to extract and analyze significant issues related to modeling and simulating supplier selection networks using Multi Agent System (MAS) approach. Related research domain is evaluated and synthesized considering six different perspectives. The review also sheds light on the weak points of current research in this area. Also, it illuminates a number of key issues which need to be considered in advancing an agent-based assessment model for future applications in supplier selection problem.