H∞ Consensus for Multiagent-Based Supply Chain Systems Under Switching Topology and Uncertain Demands

Supply chain systems are network systems with several subchains each of which consists of facilities and distribution entities (suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers), and thus such systems can be viewed as multiagent systems. Consensus or coordination of multiple subchains is crucial for a stable market supply, especially in the case of some subchains suffering from production interruption, or losing connection with others, which become isolated subchains in some time period due to irresistible reasons. Once some unspecified isolated subchains appear, the topology structure of the system will be changed, and thus the multiagent-based supply chain system can be modeled as a switched system. This paper aims to investigate the problem of H-infinity consensus for multiagent-based supply chain systems under switching topology and uncertain demands. To achieve the consensus of the system, switching controller is designed in which both production rate and distributed consensus protocol are considered. Sufficient conditions are given such that the whole system reaches consensus and desirable attenuation of bullwhip effect with an average dwell time approach, which allows some subchains to be isolated in some time periods. Finally, a simulation example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.