Scheduling to be competitive in supply chains

We assume an open supply chain environment where organizations in a globalized trading scenario can sub-contract out sub-tasks to other organizations through a contracting process. Manufacturers are assumed to award sub-contracts to bidding suppliers using an auction scheme. Of particular interest in this environment is the task scheduling strategies used by suppliers in response to manufacturer-announced task contracts. Tasks can be characterized by their constraints including their length and scheduling window. Task scheduling decisions for a supplier should be targeted towards creating a schedule that is flexible in accommodating short-notice tasks or schedule adjustments due to unforeseen events. We experimentally evaluate the effects of different scheduling heuristics in accommodating different task mixes. We also investigate the effects of a price adjustment scheme to adjust bids when an agent perceives reduced competition from other suppliers. Our simulation results identify the environmental niches for different scheduling heuristics.