Coordination in Multimodal Supply Chains: Drafting an Agent-Based Exchange

The more efficient configuration and coordination of multimodal transports is a topic consistently emerging in the last decades. Different projects, like e.g. LOGFOR, CODE24 and CENTRAL EUROPE, make efforts to achieve progress in this area. In this paper an already implemented and tested software prototype for the configuration of multimodal supply chains is presented. It is described how this prototype, which emerged from the CODE24 project, is able to facilitate contact between potential business partners. Subsequently, the paper shows how the implementation of the prototype and the research into freight exchanges led the authors of this paper to a new marketplace concept: Agent-based Freight Exchanges. These yet to be implemented, highly automated and interconnected marketplaces are designed to address problems commonly associated with existing intermediaries. They will provide support for decentralized and autonomous software agents to perform contractually binding auctions of multimodal freight transport services. It is also shown how the agents will utilize a double-sided combinatorial auction model to achieve this. Finally, an outlook on prospective concepts which support the negotiation of contracts for multimodal transport services using multi-agent systems is given.