代理人技術應用於全球運籌管理之即時線上訂單追蹤

Using Agent technology onOnline Order-Tracing in Global Logistics

• 系別　工業工程與工程管理學系 組別 工業工程組• 學生姓名　　 陳卓觀 同學• 指導教授　　 張瑞芬　　 　 博士

Outline

• Research Purposes

• What’s Intelligent Agent?

• Classification of Agent

• Anatomy of Aglet

• Mobile Agent Transfer

• Advantages of Using Mobile Agent

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• Concept of Global Logistics

• Purchasing Processes

• Agent Structure

• System Structure

• Example

• System Installation

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Research Purposes

• Corporate executives have difficulty in make organizational enterprise changes for extended integration

• Large amount and disorganized information impedes enterprises efficiency

• Quick response of order status enables better customer services

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What’s Intelligent Agent?[Wooldridge and Jennings 1995]

• Autonomous: agents perform majority of their tasks without the direct intervention of humans or other agents.

• Social ability: agents interact, when they deem order to accomplish their tasks and to help others.

• Responsiveness: agents perceive their environment and respond in a timely fashion to changes occurring in the environment.

Classification of Agent

• Static and Mobile Agents

• Interface Agents

• Collaborative Agents and Multi-Agent System

Anatomy of AgletMobile Agent Paradigm

Agent

Know-how

Agent

Know-howNetwork

Aglet Proxy

Host B

Aglet

Host A

Remote ProxyApplication

Aglet Transfer

SenderSuspend Execution

Serialize Agent

Encode Data

Transfer Data

Network

ReceiverResume Execution

De-serialize Agent

Decode Data

Receive Data

Collaboration Diagram for Aglet Creation

• creatAglet ( )

• Aglet ( )

• onCreation ( )

• Run ( )

• Synchronous Messaging

Aglet Messaging

AgletProxy

Message Handler

Message Handler

object

Aglet

1: Send Message

object

Aglet Messaging (conj.)

• Asynchronous Messaging

AgletProxy

Message Handler

Message Handler

object

Aglet

1: Send Message

FutureReply2: Get Reply

object

Advantages of Using Mobile Agent• Cut down network load (makes the connection

quality better).

Application

Application

Service

ServiceService

Host A Host B

Mobile Agent-BasedApproach

Traditional-BasedApproach

Mobile Agents and Network Load Reduction (Danny B. Lange, 1998)

Advantages of Using Mobile Agent (cont.)

• They overcome network latency

• They execute asynchronously and autonomously. Mobile Agent has capability of adapting and reacting network environment changes dynamically and automatically.

• Fault-tolerant. When a host where Agent is running tends to crash, all Agents will be warned and given time to dispatch and continue their tasks on another host in the network.

• Scalability. Another benefit of using Agent system is easy to add new Agents to an existed Agent host.

Advantages of Using Mobile Agent (cont.)

Concept ofGlobal Logistics

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Distribution Center

Distribution Center

Exportation

Importation

International Market

RetailerConsumer Factory Wholesaler

Airplane

Logistics Service

Logistics Service

Logistics Service

Purchasing Processes

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Retailer

Data Retrieving Database

Purchase Interface

Order

ActualActivities

VirturalActivities

Place Order

Feedback Order Code

Manufacturer

Update Data

Data RetrievingDatabase

Delivery

Internal System

Internal System

Supplier

Update Data

Data RetrievingDatabase

Internal System

Stock OutInformation

Logistics Service

Update Data

Recei ve OrderI nformati on

Scheduling Request

Logistics Service

Update the Status of Order

Place Order to Supplieror

Manufacturing Assignment

Update the Status of Order

User

Customer

Delivery

Ask for Delivery

Ask for Delivery

Receive Task

Receive Task

Ask for Delivery

Receive Task

Place Order to Manufacturer

Stock OutInformation

Place Order to Manufacturer

Agent Structure

InternetDatabase

Agents

Computer User Interface

Coordinators Agent

InformationGrabber

Users

External Resource

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Name Roles

User When making a tracking request via a portal web-site, users provide Order-No or Customer-No to User Interface.

User Interface User Interface receives users’ information and passes it Coordinators.

Coordinators Agent Coordinator Agent gets information from user through User Interface, and then performs routing, that is, figuring the company holding the user’s order.

Information Grabber After routing, Coordinator Agent passes the information got from user to Information Grabber. Then Information Grabber grabs related data from external source either via mid-tier programs or by itself.

External Resources External Resource is where the needed data externally stored.

Integration of

System andBusiness Logic

Explorer

Consumers

Agent CenterJava Programs

InformationPassing

Agent AssignmentInternational Market

Order Placement

Distribution Center

Distribution Center

Distribution Center

Distribution Center

Exportation

Importation

AirplaneRetailer

PurchaseInterface

Manufacturer

Supplier

Place Order toManufacture

Recei ve OrderI nformati on

Agent

Agent

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Alliance’s Information

for Detail

Distribution Center

Humanly Collect Data

Database

GSM Data Collection

DeliveryOrder

•TEL•FAX•E-MAIL•WWW

JobAssignment

•Designatedprofessionaldriver withbadge

• truck

Pickup andLoading

•Pickupinspection andcounting

•Proper packingand loading

Delivery andUnloading

•Unloadinginspection andcounting

•Customerreceiving andsigning

Documentationand Confirmation

•Deliveryconfirmation

•Paymentprocessing

Transportation

•Designatedrouting

•Cellular phonecommunication

•Non-stop delivery

$$

Pay to $

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GPS Data Collection

Order-Tracing Request

and Response

Explorer

Customer-No

Order-No

Retailer

User’s filling in

Result of Inquiry

Supplier B

Supplier C Company A UPS Customer

X day Y day

Order ID Order Title Order Date: Location Running Task(s):

K893814 Java2 7/15/2001 AM 11:00:00 L.A. Company A

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Agent Center3. Receives the ID

1.SendCustomer ID or Order ID

to Retailer’s Websitefor Tracking Request

ID

AnyWebServerRetailer

2.Pass ID to Agent Center

AgentWebServerID

AgentCenterHub

Agent Center Elements

4. Retrieving DatabaseData for Alliances’ IP

5. Coordinators headsthe Destinations

According to the IP

6. Coordinators InvokeInformation Grabbers in

each Alliance

7. Information Grabbers Check the DatabaseSee if the Specific Order is Existed.

8. If Existed, Send Affirmative Message.Otherwise, Send Negative Message to the

Coordinators.

System Structure

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• 1. Send Customer ID or Order ID to retailer’s website. Retailer means who the customer placed order to. Any type of Web-Server can be used for receiving users’ Order-Tracing request entrance only if it is connected to Agent-Center.

• 2. Pass ID to Agent-Center. Alliances’ web-servers must have two main features to work with Agent-Center. One is the parameters that will be received by Agent-Center; two is the ‘action’ got to be pointed to the Agent-Center’s address.

• 3. In the Agent-Center, here is a critical component called Agent-Web-Server, which is full time standby for receiving ID messages that customers passed to retailer’s Web-Server. Agent-Web-Server acts as the main role in the Order-Tracing system. In this step, when retailer’s web-server receives customers ID messages, it will be automatically passed to Agent-Web-Server, and a sequence of activities will be invoked by the Agent-Web-Sever.

System Procedure(1)

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Retailer

• 4 AgentCenterHub Agent is invoked to decide which alliance it should dispatch to. The searching mechanism is designed and programmed here. By retrieving the IP address stored in the AgentCenter’s database, Agents have specific destinations to go and ask for certain services.

• 5. After AgentCenterHub has destination data in hand, Coordinators are invoked to be dispatched to those destinations and are given the customer’s ID data.

• 6. Coordinators invoke Information Grabbers in Alliances’ hosts and pass the ID to it.

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AgentWebServer

AgentCenterHub

Coordinator

System Procedure(2)

• 7. The Information Grabber invoked by the Coordinator then starts to retrieve the local database and set about its order existence check procedure according to the customer’s ID.

• 8. If this specific order is confirmed to be existed in certain firm, the Information Grabber then replies ‘Affirmative’ to the Coordinator. The Coordinator then goes back and reports it to the AgentWebServer Agent to have the Presenter ready to present the order information.

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System Procedure(3)

Example

Scenario Introduction

UPX South Africa Branch

FeDes Taiwan Branch

UPX North America Branch

Customer

UPX Australia Branch

Airlift

Ocean shipping

Ocean shipping

ExampleOrder-Tracing Request

Example

Launch Agent

ExampleOrder-Tracing Result

Example

Arrival Date2002/1/1

Arrival Date2002/1/3

Arrival Date2002/1/5

System Installation

Agent platform installation: 1. Directly copy the Aglet1.1_ from the source CD to the destination directory.2. Set up the environment variable:

CLASSPATH:Agent variable: .;C:\aglets1.1.0\lib;C:\aglets1.1.0\public;For connecting Oracle database: o:\oracle\ora81\jdbc\lib\classes12.zip; For connecting SQL database: C:\driver\freetds_jdbc\freetds_jdbc.jarAdd aglet_home variable and set it for your aglet directory Add jdk_home variable and set it for your jdk directory

PATH:C:\aglet1.1_\aglets1.1.0\bin;Note that the C: or o: directory is depending on where you installed it for.

System Installation Dealer side: copy the files from the CD’s directory “system/dealer_side” to your system’s (aglethome, usually named A

glet1.1_)/ aglets1.1.0/ public/ thesis.Data side: copy the files from the CD’s directory “system/data_side” to your system’s (aglethome, usually named Aglet

1.1_)/ aglets1.1.0/ public/ thesis.

Note: customize the “InfoGrabber.java” file for connecting the database. And then recompile this modified file and reboot the Aglet system.

Order-Tracing System

Platform Structure

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ReceivesRequest Side

Operating System

Data-Side Web Server

Aglet Server

Security Layer

Java Virtual Machine

Aglet Programs

Database

Windows Operating System

Aglet Server

Security Layer

Java Virtual Machine

Aglet Programs

Database

Windows Operating System

AgentCenter