Decentralized planning in supply networks

Nowadays, Supply Chain Management is seen as a strategic management instrument in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Coordination of value-added activities along the value chain is critical to the efficiency and the adaptability of international operations. New information and communication technologies have substantially changed the way value chains are designed and managed. Enterprise resource planning systems in multi-tier value networks are facing major challenges. Many existing solutions neglect feedback mechanisms and operate on the assumption of isolated supply chains. However, there might be obstacles to successful business usage even in intra-enterprise planning via production plants. Decentralized planning is an innovative approach which grounds on consensus-like agreements between equal partners, through communicative, negotiation-like processes. Thus research activities are aiming at developing appropriate coordination mechanisms for decision making in tactical operations planning between independent supply chain partners. These mechanisms are supposed to enable them to draw up consistent plans.