Optimizing the selection of partners in production networks

Non-hierarchical regional production networks are the vision of a virtual enterprise model which is investigated in a collaborative research center at Chemnitz University of Technology. In the center of interest is the development of a virtual enterprise model which is based on small performance Units-the so-called competence cells. The general intention of this model is to improve the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, which results from the enterprise-spanning cooperation of the participants. Thus, the concentration on the own core competences is supported and the market power is contemporaneously increased by the help of the network. The possibly automated selection of the partners is one of the major problems in virtual enterprises. Therefore, we introduce a method for choosing the most capable competence cells from a pool of potential competence cells. The selected competence cells fulfil the tasks of a value chain particularly well. Within our approach, this problem will be solved using Ant Colony Optimization. Additionally, social facts will also be considered in order to select the suitable competence cells for the network. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.