Procurement

About: Procurement is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 25669 publications have been published within this topic receiving 334145 citations.

System, method and apparatus for aggregation of cooperative intelligent agents for procurement in a distributed network

Abstract: Cooperative intelligent negotiation agents (C-INAs) operate in a distributed communications environment for the automated negotiation and procurement of products, services and bundles. Buyer-side aggregation occurs by pooling C-INAs with common interests within specific time frames that are activated by seller INA promotions. Buyer C-INAs can have several modes, including neutral agency (broker or intermediary) role, the leader role and the follower role. C-INAs use multilateral and multivariate negotiation parameters. Sellers (using S-C-INAs) may cooperate in order to share information so as to provide correct pricing for complex combinations of items from buyers. Buyers can cooperate in order to receive aggregated pricing opportunities on multiple item bundles from a plurality of sellers using combinatorial auctions. Dynamic INAs, which switch buyer and seller role, may also use aggregation and combinatorial auction methods. Because they are autonomous, C-INAs use evolutionary computing technologies to move beyond their initial programming constraints to adapt to complex changing circumstances. Analytical agents inform C-INAs and transaction agents complete and track transactions.

Buyer-seller relationships in the procurement of logistical services

Abstract: This study presents a two-phase model of interfirm exchange in the logistical supply industry. The first phase uses transaction cost analysis to identify conditions leading to market-based transactions, unilateral agreements, and bilateral alliances. The second phase illustrates how formal controls and relational norms yield performance in market, unilateral, and bilateral governance systems. A test of the model with data from 189 logistical supply relationships suggests that bilateral alliances emerge through the interaction of user investments in the logistics supplier, supplier logistical services, and marketplace uncertainty. Bilateral alliances attain desired outcomes through participative management and flexibility. By contrast, market-based transactions yield desired outcomes through formalization and solidarity. Unilateral agreements gain performance through formalization, participation, information sharing, and solidarity. Implications for logistics management and theory are discussed.

Strategic Closed-Loop Facility Location Problem With Carbon Market Trading

Abstract: The burgeoning environmental regulations are forcing companies to green their supply chains by integrating all of their business value-adding operations so as to minimize the impact on the environment. One dimension of greening the supply chain is extending the forward supply chain to collection and recovery of products in a closed-loop configuration. Remanufacturing is the basis of profit-oriented reverse logistics in which recovered products are restored to a marketable condition in order to be resold to the primary or secondary market. In this paper, we introduce a multiechelon multicommodity facility location problem with a trading price of carbon emissions and a cost of procurement. The company might either incur costs if the carbon cap, normally assigned by regulatory agencies, is lower than the total emissions, or gain profit if the carbon cap is higher than the total emissions. A numerical study is presented which studies the impact of different carbon prices on cost and configuration of supply chains.